By  A.  M.  Agelasto,  Specialist  in  Cotton  Classing ,  Bureau  of  Agricul¬ 
tural  Economies ;  C.  B.  Doyle,  Botanist,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry ; 
G.  S.  Meloy,  Investigator  in  Cotton  Marketing ;  and  O.  C.  Stine, 
Agricultural  Economist,  Bureau  of  Agricultural  Economics. 

Cotton  the  Great  Crop  of  the  South. 

5  HE  greatest  commercial  crop  of  the  United 
States  is  cotton.  The  corn  crop  exceeds 
it  in  total  value  (Fig.  1),  but  much  the 
greater  part  of  that  crop  is  consumed 
on  the  farms  where  grown,  whereas  all 
of  the  lint  and  most  of  the  seed  of  the 
cotton  crop  is  sold  off  the  farms.  In 
comparing  crop  values  often  only  the  value  of  the  lint  of 
the  cotton  is  considered.  The  hay  crops  and  the  wheat  crop 
are  usually  about  equal  to  and  sometimes  greater  in  value 
than  the  lint  of  the  cotton  crop,  but,  including  the  value  of 
the  cotton  seed,  the  cotton  crop  stands  second  only  to  corn. 
Although  American  mills  consume  about  half  the  crop,  the 
value  of  the  exports  of  raw  cotton  usually  exceeds  that  of 
the  exports  of  any  other  crop. 

Cotton  is  the  great  crop  of  the  South.  It  is  the  chief  and 
often  almost  the  only  source  of  income  to  a  large  proportion 

323 


324  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  1921. 


Fig.  1. — Note  that  cotton  holds  first  place  in  exports  hut  not  in  total  value  of 
the  crop.  Only  the  lint  of  the  cotton  is  here  included  in  the  value  of  the 
crop.  Adding  the  value  of  the  seed,  cotton  would  stand  second  to  corn 
only  in  total  value. 

of  the  farmers  in  the  Southern  States.  It  is  so  important 
that  low  prices  or  any  other  factor  which  greatly  reduces 
the  profitableness  of  the  crop  greatly  disturbs  the  economic 
life  of  the  Southern  States.  When  the  cotton  crop  is  good 
and  brings  good  prices  the  South  is  prosperous. 

There  is  a  division  of  labor  between  the  States  of  the  North 
and  those  of  the  South  by  which  the  North  depends  upon  the 
South  for  cotton  clothing  or  the  raw  materials  out  of  which 
to  manufacture  the  clothing  and  for  products  of  the  cotton 
seed,  and  the  South  in  turn  buys  many  of  the  products  of 
farms  of  the  North.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  when  the 
South  is  prosperous  it  furnishes  a  good  market  for  corn, 
flour,  meat,  and  dairy  products,  and  that  a  prosperous  North 
makes  a  good  demand  for  cotton  and  cotton  products. 

World  Production. 

Such  a  large  part  of  the  cotton  crop  is  marketed  abroad 
that  the  prosperity  of  the  South  also  depends  to  a  consider¬ 
able  extent  upon  the  conditions  of  the  foreign  markets  for 
cotton.  It  is  important,  therefore,  to  consider  the  world’s 
supply  of  and  demand  for  cotton. 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


325 


The  United  States  has  been  for  many  years  the  world’s 
greatest  cotton  producer.  India,  China,  Egypt,  and  Brazil 
are  the  most  important  competitive  producers.  Many  other 
countries  produce  small  amounts  of  cotton.  (See  Figs.  2 
and  3.) 

India. 


Some  cotton  is  grown  in  nearly  all  parts  of  India,  but  most 
of  it  grows  in  the  western  half  of  the  country.  As  in  the 
United  States,  there  is  a  high  degree  of  specialization  in  cot- 


Fig.  2. — From  1891  to  1914  the  cotton  crops  of  Egypt,  India,  and  the  United 
States  nearly  doubled.  The  total  crop  of  1914  was  the  largest  ever  produced. 
Last  year  the  crops  in  Egypt  and  the  United  States  were  the  smallest  in 
many  years. 

ton  growing  in  some  districts.  The  area  devoted  to  cotton  in 
India  equals  about  two-thirds  of  the  area  planted  in  the 
United  States,  but  the  low  yields  per  acre  return  a  total  crop 
about  one-third  as  large.  The  production  of  India  varies  con¬ 
siderably  from  year  to  year,  with  a  tendency  to  increase.  The 
crop  of  1919  was  the  largest  yet  produced.  (See  Fig.  2.) 

Egypt. 

The  cultivable  land  in  Egypt  is  limited  to  the  Delta  and 
a  narrow  strip  along  the  Nile,  of  which  nearly  one-third  is  in 
cotton.  The  acreage  is  only  about  one-twentieth  that  of  the 
United  States,  but  large  yields  return  a  crop  about  one-tenth 
as  large.  The  production  of  Egypt  haa  declined  since  1914 
and  in  1921  was  the  lowest  in  many  years. 


326  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  196<ll 


Fig.  3. — The  United  States  produces  over  half  of  the  world’s  cotton  crop.  The  total  crop  of  China  is  placed  second  by  various  esti¬ 
mates.  In  commercial  production  India  is  second.  Cotton  is  grown  in  many  parts  of  Africa  and  South  America,  but  only  in  small 
quantities.  Australia  also  grows  a  small  quantity.  Cotton  requires  a  long  season  of  w’arm  weather  for  growth,  and  proper  maturity. 
Its  latitudinal  limits  north  and  south  fall  between  35  and  45°,  depending  upon  elevation  and  other  conditions  affecting  the  length 
of  the  frostless  season. 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


327 


South  America. 

Cotton  grows  as  far  south  in  South  America  as  the  t  wenty  - 
eighth  parallel,  which  includes  the  northern  part  of  Argen¬ 
tina.  Within  the  zone  in  which  the  plant  thrives  the  area 
suitable  for  growing  it  is  limited.  In  a  large  part  of  the 
zone  the  altitude  offsets  the  effects  of  latitude  and  tempers 
the  tropical  climate  so  much  as  to  exclude  this  crop.  In 
other  parts  the  rainfall  is  too  heavy.  Very  little  cotton  is 
found  in  the  Tropics,  where  the  annual  rainfall  amounts  to 
more  than  60  inches.  The  chief  cotton-producing  regions 
are  the  drier  eastern  sections  of  Brazil  and  the  coastal  zone 
of  Peru. 

Some  authorities  believe  that  Brazil  has  an  extensive  po¬ 
tential  area  for  cotton  production.  Quite  recently  production 
has  developed  rapidly  in  Sao  Paulo,  southeastern  Brazil.  In 
this  region  cotton  must  compete  with  the  growing  of  coffee. 
Likewise  an  increase  has  occurred  in  the  production  of 
Argentina  in  recent  years,  but  the  total  production  of  Argen¬ 
tina  is  still  rather  small. 

China. 

There  are  no  authoritative  statistics  of  production  in  China. 
Cotton  production  has  developed  rapidly  in  recent  years, 
replacing  the  opium  poppy  in  many  regions.  The  known 
commercial  crop  exceeds  1  million  bales.  Since  the  domes¬ 
tic  consumption  is  large,  the  total  crop  has  been  estimated  to 
be  about  4  million  bales. 

Principal  Commercial  Types  of  Cotton. 

Wild  species  of  cotton  (Gossypium)  are  found  in  tropical 
regions  of  both  hemispheres,  and  there  are  hundreds  of  cul¬ 
tivated  varieties,  differing  in  plant  characters,  as  well  as 
in  the  length,  strength,  and  fineness  of  fiber.  Thirty-eight 
principal  commercial  types  are  recognized  at  Liverpool,  the 
chief  cotton  market  of  the  world.  A  broad  grouping  into 
five  general  classes  according  to  uses  and  commercial  values 
is  as  follows: 

(1)  Sea  Island  cotton  (' Gossypium  barbadense)  is  a  native  of 
tropical  America.  It  has  yellow  flowers  with  purple  spots,  bolls 
mostly  3-locked,  black  seeds,  fuzzy  only  at  the  ends,  and  very  long, 
silky  fiber.  “  Fancy  Sea  Island,”  grown  on  the  islands  and  mainland 
along  the  coast  of  South  Carolina,  has  a  fiber  2  inches  long,  sometimes 


328  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 


Fig.  4. — Principal  commercial  types  of  cotton.  Combed  lint  of  five  important 
types:  (1)  Sea  Island;  (2)  Egyptian;  (3)  upland  long-staple;  (4)  upland 
short-staple;  (5)  Asiatic.  (Natural  size.) 


The  Cotton  Situation*  329. 

even  longer,  and  is  the  most  valuable  of  the  world’s  cottons,  sur¬ 
passing  all  other  types  in  length,  strength,  and  fineness.  Most  of  the 
Sea  Island  crop,  with  a  staple  of  11  to  If  inches,  is  grown  farther 
inland  in  Georgia  and  Florida  and  is  known  commercially  as  “  Flori- 
das  ”  and  “Georgias.”  Before  the  coming  of  the  boll  weevil  the 
average  yearly  production  of  Sea  Island  cotton  in  the  United  States 
was  about  90,000  running  bales,  of  which  the  fancy  grades  represented 
about  one-tenth.  Since  the  invasion  of  the  boll  weevil  the  production 
of  Sea  Island  cotton  has  rapidly  declined,  and  in  the  last  few  years 
the  crop  of  the  United  States  has  been  a  failure.  In  1920  production  ) 
practically  ceased,  the  crop  amounting  to  less  than  2,000  bales,  whereas  ; 
in  1916  the  production  was  about  116,000  bales.  The  fenjainder  of 
the  Sea  Island  crop  of  the  world,  probably  amounting  to  10,000  bales, 
is  produced  mostly  in  the  West  Indies,  principally  St.  Vincent,  Bar¬ 
bados,  and  St.  Kitts,  and  in  Peru.  (See  staple  No.  1,  Fig,  4.) 

(2)  Egyptian  cotton  ( Gossypium  barbadense )  is  similar  to  Sea 

Island  in  the  general  appearance  of  the  plants,  and  has  a  fine,  silky,  j 
strong  fiber.  The  staple  is  from  lie  to  If  inches  long,  and  is  second  j 
in  value  only  to  the  Sea  Island.  Egypt  furnishes  the  hulk  of  the  j 
annual  crop,  averaging  about  1,250,000  bales  of  500  pounds  each,  of  i 
which  from  150,000  to  350,000  bales  have  been  exported  to  the  United  ; 
States.  Egyptian  cotton  is  also  produced  in  the  irrigated  valleys  j 
of  Arizona  and  California,  the  first  commercial  planting  being  made  I 
in  1912,  although  it  was  experimentally  grown  in  thi&; country  many  j 
years  before  that  time.  The  American  industry  has  rapidly  grown  j 
from  a  production  of  7,000  bales  in  1916  in  the  Salt  Rrvier  Valley  of  j 
Arizona  to  a  total  in  both  Arizona  and  Californa  of  about  100,000  \ 
bales  in  1920.  (See  staple  No.  2,  Fig.  4.)  i 

(3)  Upland  long-staple  cotton  ( Gossypium  hirsutum ),  grown  chiefly  • 
in  the  United  States,  occupies  a  commercial  position  between  the 
Egyptian  and  the  Upland  short  staples.  The  plants  resemble  those 
of  the  short-staple  type,  having  unspotted  white  flowers,  bolls  4  or  • 
5-locked,  and  seeds  usually  well  covered  with  white,  brown,  or  i 
green  fuzz,  in  addition  to  the  lint.  The  staple  ranges  in  length  from  ; 
li  to  If  inches,  and  for  some  purposes  competes  with  Egyptian. 
Most  of  the  Upland  long-staple  crop  of  the  United  States  is  pro¬ 
duced  in  the  delta  lands  of  Mississippi,  in  the  Pecos  and  Red  River 
Valleys  of  Texas,  in  Oklahoma,  Arkansas,  California,  and  South 
Carolina.  The  annual  production  is  about  1,500,000  bales."  (See  j. 
staple  No.  3,  Fig.  4.) 

(4)  Upland  short-staple  ( Gossypium  hirsutum)  constitutes  about 
92  per  cent  of  the  cotton  crop  of  the  United  States  and  about  50  per 
cent  of  the  world’s  crop  of  20,000,000  bales.  “  American  Middling,”  - 
the  standard  short-staple  grade,  is  the  basis  of  price  quotations  for  ! 
all  short-staple  cottons.  The  staple  varies  in  length  from  five- 
eighths  to  1  inch,  with  some  varieties  exceeding  an  inch  when  grown 
under  the  most  favorable  conditions.  Hundreds  of  varieties  are 
cultivated  in  the  American  Cotton  Belt,  differing  in  habits  of  growth, 
size  of  bolls,  earliness  of  opening,  abundance,  length,  and  uniformity 
of  staple.  American  Upland  varieties  have  been  introduced  into 


330  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

Russian  Turkestan  and  Transcaucasia,  and  now  constitute  the  major 
portion  of  the  crop  in  those  regions.  They  are  also  being  grown 
in  India,  China,  Chosen,  Africa,  Asia  Minor,  and  Brazil.  (See  staple 
No.  4,  Fig.  4.) 

(5)  Asiatic  cottons  include  Gossypium  herbaceum  and  several  re¬ 
lated  botanical  species,  indicum,  neglectum,  and  arboreum.  The 
staple  is  short,  often  only  three-eighths  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch, 
but  strong  and  rather  rough.  Asiatic  cotton  is  grown  in  India, 
China,  Asia  Minor,  Persia,  Indo-China,  and  Japan,  but  in  several 
districts  is  giving  place  to  the  American  Upland  type.  The  total 
volume  of  the  crop  is  large  but  unknown,  most  'of  it  being  applied 
to  domestic  or  local  uses.  (See  staple  No.  5,  Fig.  4.) 

Shifts  in  Cotton  Production. 

In  the  development  of  the  United  States  the  cotton  crop 
has  moved  across  the  Cotton  Belt  from  east  to  west.  Areas 
have  been  tried  out  north  of  the  areas  in  which  cotton  is  now 
grown.  Practically  all  possible  available  area  for  produc¬ 
tion  in  the  United  States  has  had  a  trial.  Within  the  limits 
of  suitable  climatic  conditions,  production  expands  or  con¬ 
tracts  with  changes  in  prices  or  in  the  profitableness  of  grow¬ 
ing  the  crop.  Shifts  and  changes  in  the  distribution  of  the 
crop  from  1839  to  date  are  shown  by  Figures  5  to  9,  inclu¬ 
sive. 

In  1839  the  cotton  crop  occupied  only  about  half  the  area 
that  it  now  occupies.  Texas  and  the  Indian  territory  west 
of  Arkansas  were  not  producing  cotton.  East  of  Texas  all 
of  the  territory  of  the  Cotton  Belt  had  been  opened  to  occupa¬ 
tion  by  cotton  planters  and  was  being  rapidly  developed. 
The  addition  of  large  areas  of  new  land  that  was  well  suited 
to  the  cultivation  of  cotton  increased  production  so  rapidly 
in  the  decade  1839-1849  that  prices  fell  to  a  very  low  point. 
Notwithstanding  low  prices,  production  increased  50  per  cent. 
Prices  were  better  during  the  decade  1849-1859,  and  produc¬ 
tion  continued  to  increase  in  all  parts  of  the  Cotton  Belt, 
the  greatest  gains  being  made  in  the  Southwestern  States. 
In  this  decade  Texas  and  Arkansas  began  to  contribute  to 
the  annual  crops  of  the  United  States.  In  this  and  the  pre¬ 
ceding  decade,  railroads  were  constructed  from  the  coast  to 
the  interior  in  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and 
Alabama,  increasing  the  transportation  facilities  and  thereby 
encouraging  the  further  development  of  cotton  production 
in  the  interior  of  these  States. 


The  Cotton  Situation.  331 

The  blockade  during  the  Civil  War  temporarily  ruined  the 
cotton  industry  of  the  South.  During  the  war  some  cotton 


Fig.  5. — More  than  three-fourths  of  the  cotton  crop  of  1839  was  grown  east 
of  the  Mississippi  River.  Mississippi  was  the  leading  State  and  Georgia 
next.  Several  counties  in  Illinois  and  Missouri  reported  cotton. 


Fig.  6. — There  was  a  great  shift  in  area  and  a  great  increase  in  production 
between  1839  and  1859.  The  black  prairie  of  Alabama  and  Mississippi 
and  the  alluvial  lands  along  the  Mississippi  contributed  largely  to  the 
increase  in  production.  New  territory  was  added  in  eastern  Texas; 


was  produced,  but  for  the  most  part  agricultural  activities 
were  diverted  to  the  production  of  food.  In  1865  the  South 


332  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  1921. 


was  again  free  to  return  to  a  high  degree  of  specialization  in 
cotton.  The  recovery  of  production  was  necessarily  slow. 


FIG.  7. — By  1879  production  had  practically  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the 
Civil  War.  It  had  shifted  farther  westward  in  Texas  and  Indian  Terri¬ 
tory.  In  the  Bast  the  effects  of  the  use  of  fertilizers  on  the  upper  Coastal 
Plain  and  Piedmont  began  to  show  in  increased  production. 


Fig.  8.— Texas  trebled  her  crop  between  1879  and  1899.  In  the  East  produc¬ 
tion  continued  to  increase  with  the  use  of  more  fertilizer.  At  this  date 
the  boll  weevil  had  begun  to  operate  in  Texas  but  had  covered  very  little 
ground.  (See  Fig.  23.) 


A 


The  Cotton  Situation .  333 


334  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

The  crop  of  1866  was  less  than  2  million  bales,  which  was  less 
than  half  that  of  1859  and  a  little  greater  than  the  crop  of 
1839.  High  prices  stimulated  production  by  the  farmers 
along  the  northern  border  of  the  Cotton  Belt  and  in  Arkansas 
and  Texas.  It  was  not  so  difficult  to  reorganize  agricultural 
activities  where  the  farms  were  small  and  worked  largely  by 
white  labor  as  it  was  to  reorganize  the  large  plantations  which 
had  been  worked  by  slave  labor.  By  1879  conditions  in  the 
South  were  fairly  stable  again,  and  the  crop  of  that  year  was 
the  largest  that  had  ever  been  produced.  All  the  States, 
except  Alabama  and  Louisiana,  produced  more  cotton  in  1879 
than  in  1859. 

Production  doubled  between  1879  and  1898.  In  the  West 
the  increase  in  production  was  largely  from  new  lands.  The 
expansion  of  railroads  in  Texas  was  followed  by  the  rapid 
development  of  cotton  production  in  the  Black  Waxy  Prairie 
region,  grazing  and  grain  farming  giving  way  to  cotton. 
Production  in  Arkansas  and  Oklahoma  had  also  increased 
greatly.  In  the  East  there  was  an  increase  in  production, 
largely  as  the  result  of  the  extensive  use  of  fertilizer  on  sandy 
soils  and  of  improvements  in  methods  of  production. 

The  development  of  Oklahoma  and  western  Texas  added 
a  large  acreage  to  the  cotton-producing  area  between  1899 
and  1909.  The  total  acreage  increased  32  per  cent  in  the 
decade  and  continued  to  increase  up  to  1914.  This  period 
is  marked  by  the  spread  of  the  boll  weevil,  by  the  intensi¬ 
fication  of  efforts  to  produce  higher  yields  and  better  quali¬ 
ties,  by  the  introduction  of  cotton  into  the  irrigated  districts 
of  southern  California  and  Arizona,  by  the  great  increase  in 
the  value  of  cotton  seed,  by  the  rapid  development  of  cotton 
manufacturing  in  the  South,  and  by  increased  competition 
from  foreign  countries. 

Since  1914  production  of  cotton  has  been  reduced  con¬ 
siderably  by  the  ravages  of  the  boll  weevil.  The  crop  of 
1919  was  only  a  little  larger  than  the  crop  of  1909,  which 
was  a  short  crop  for  that  period.  The  crop  of  1921  was 
greatly  reduced  by  the  boll  weevil  and  was  the  shortest 
crop  that  has  been  produced  since  1895.  It  may  be  noted 
that  the  heaviest  reductions  were  made  in  the  regions  most 
recently  infested  by  the  boll  weevil.  (Compare  Figs.  9 
and  23.) 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


335 


Fig.  10. — The  acreage  of  cotton  expanded  rapidly  from  1866  to  1913.  The 
trend  since  1913  has  been  downward.  The  yield  per  acre  varies  greatly  from 
year  to  year,  the  trend  was  upward  from  1890  to  1907  and  has  been  down¬ 
ward  since  the  latter  date,  and  last  year  was  the  lowest  recorded.  The  crop 
of  last  year  was  the  smallest  since  1895. 

/ 


336  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  1921. 

Acreage,  Yield,  and  Production. 

Beginning  with  the  earliest  date  for  which  acreage  data 
are  available,  the  area  of  cotton  harvested  has  quadrupled. 
The  very  rapid  increase  from  1866  to  1880  was  a  process  of 
recovering  after  the  Civil  War.  The  rapid  expansion  from 
1893  to  1911  was  for  the  most  part  an  expansion  westward 
in  Texas  and  Oklahoma.  In  recent  years  a  tendency  seems 
to  be  developing  to  maintain  a  level  or  possibly  to  reduce 
the  area  in  cotton.  The  ravages  of  the  boll  weevil  have 
caused  reductions  in  acreage  in  the  worst  infested  areas. 
These  reductions  have  been  offset  by  expansion  of  cultivated 
areas  in  which  the  weevil  has  been  less  destructive. 

Yields  per  acre  fluctuate  greatly  from  year  to  year.  The 
average  for  1921  was  the  lowest  of  which  there  is  a  record. 
The  trend  of  yields  was  downward  to  1890,  after  which  it 
was  upward  for  16  years,  and  is  again  downward.  Three 
major  factors  in  the  trend  of  yields  are  shifts  in  area,  fer¬ 
tilizers,  and  boll  weevil.  The  downward  trend  in  the  first 
period  noted  was  due  largely  to  expanding  low-yielding 
areas,  the  upward  tendency,  developed  later,  was  due  largely 
to  increased  use  of  fertilizers  in  some  States,  and  the  later 
downward  tendency  is  caused  primarily  by  the  activities  of 
the,  boll  weevil. 

Production  fluctuates  with  yields  and  follows  a  composite 
trend  between  acreage  and  yield.  Unusually  large  areas 
planted  from  1910  to  1914  and  good  yields  produced  very 
large  crops,  the  crop  of  1914  being  the  largest  ever  produced. 
Since  1914  the  crops  have  averaged  about  the  same  as  for  the 
period  1904—1909,  and  last  year’s  crop  was  the  smallest  pro¬ 
duced  since  1895. 

Diversification  of  Crops  in  the  South. 

The  averages  of  crops  in  the  South  as  reported  by  the 
censuses  of  1880-1921,  inclusive,  show  no  decided  tendency 
toward  diversification  until  the  lart  decade.  Several  new 
crops  have  come  into  the  South  in  this  period  and  now  occupy 
considerable  areas.  The  area  sown  to  rice  has  increased  over 
50  per  cent  but  is  still  a  small  percentage  of  the  total  cul¬ 
tivated  area.  In  recent  years  peanut  growing  has  developed 
some  importance.  Soy  beans  and  cowpeas  are  comparatively 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


337 


new  crops  in  the  South.  Kafir  and  milo  are  new  crops  in 
Oklahoma  and  Texas.  The  total  acreage  of  all  these  new 
crops  compared  with  the  total  acreage  of  cotton  or  corn  is  not 
very  great,  but  together  with  all  other  crops  they  now  make 
up  about  one-third  of  the  total  crop  area. 


Changes  in  acreages  of  selected  crops  in  the  cotton-growing  States , 

1879-1919. 


- 

Number  of  acres, 

000  omitted. 

Per  cent  of  total  acreage  of  principal 
crops. 

1919 

1909 

1899 

1889 

1879 

1919 

1909 

1899 

1889 

1879 

Rice . 

779 

610 

342 

161 

174 

0.8 

0.7 

0.5 

0.3 

0.4 

Kafir,  milo, 

\ 

maize,  etc . 

2,635 

1,108 

86 

2.7 

1.4 

.1 

Hay— tame  or 

wild  grasses .... 

4,360 

3,518 

1,950 

1,543 

454 

4.5 

4.4 

3.0 

3.2 

1.1 

Annual  legumes — 

hay . . 

1,339 

1.4 

Sorghum  kafir — 

forage .  . . 

2,566 

1,148 

749 

2.7 

1.4 

1.1 

Peanuts . 

913 

724 

398 

143 

.9 

.9 

.6 

.3 

Total . 

12,592 

7,108 

3,525 

1,847 

628 

13.1 

8.8 

5.3 

3.9 

1.6 

Locally  marked  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  relative 
acreages  of  the  different  crops.  The  destructive  activities 
of  the  boll  weevil  have  been  an  important  factor  in  bring¬ 
ing  about  these  changes.  The  acreage  of  cotton  in  Georgia 
in  1919  was  con¬ 
siderably  below 
the  acreage  of 
1909.  The  reduc¬ 
tion  in  cotton 
acreage  here  was 
offset  largely  by 
an  increase  in  the 
acreage  of  corn. 

There  was  a  con¬ 
siderable  increase 

in  the  acreage  of  FlG*  1:t- — From  1909  to  1919  the  percentage  of  land 
,  ....  cultivated  in  crops  other  than  corn  and  cotton  in 

nay,  especially  the  Southern  States  increased  considerably. 

5689°—  22 - 2 


PERCENT  OF  TOTAL  CROP  ACREAGE 
COTTON,  CORN  AND  OTHER  CROPS 

COTTON  GROWING  STATES,  1879-1919 

PER  CT. 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

-inrrQltx' 

- CORN 

* 

OT//£/i  CffOA 

’£  -  -  - ' 

- 5^ 

* 

1879 

IAAA 

1899 

1909 

1919 

338  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

legume  hay,  otherwise  there  were  no  very  significant  changes. 
Similar  but  even  more  striking  changes  have  taken  place  in 
Mississippi.  In  a  few  States  cotton  has  increased  in  im¬ 
portance,  offsetting,  in  a  measure,  the  decline  in  the  relative 
importance  of  cotton  in  the  States  which  have  been  seriously 
affected  by  the  boll  weevil. 

In  the  last  year,  1921,  there  seemed  to  be  every  reason  for 
reducing  the  acreage  planted  to  cotton  and  increasing  the 
acreage  planted  to  corn.  According  to  the  latest  estimate, 

the  result  was  a 
reduction  of  the 
cotton  crop  for 
1921  to  approxi¬ 
mately  the  acreage 
for  1915,  a  total 
reduction  from 
1920  of  about  10 
per  cent.  The 
high  freight  rates 
on  corn  from  the 
North  encouraged 
the  increase  in 
corn  production. 
For  a  long  time 
we  have  had  this 
swinging  from  corn  to  cotton  and  from  cotton  to  corn,  main¬ 
taining  a  relation  of  about  50  to  50  between  them. 

The  number  of  live  stock  in  the  cotton-producing  States 
has  increased  in  the  last  50  years,  but  not  as  rapidly  as  has 
the  area  planted  to  cotton.  The  number  of  cattle  doubled 
and  the  number  of  swine  increased  about  25  per  cent.  The 
increase  in  live  stock  is  supported  by  the  increase  in  tame 
grass  and  legume  hay.  It  is  difficult  to  compare  exactly  the 
last  two  censuses.  The  change  in  number  between  the  last 
two  decades  seems  disappointing  to  one  who  believes  that 
the  South  would  profit  by  keeping  more  live  stock. 

The  Cotton  Belt. 

The  term  “  Cotton  Belt  ”  as  it  is  generally  used  applies  to 
that  area  of  specialized  cotton  production  in  the  South  ex¬ 
tending  from  the  Atlantic  coast  through  North  Carolina, 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  Mississippi, 


NUMBER  OF  CATTLE  AND  SWINE 
TREND  COMPARED  WITH  COTTON  ACREAGE 
COTTON  GROWING  STATES,  1680-1920 


INDEX 


Fig.  12. — Census  returns  of  live  stock  are  not 
strictly  comparable  from  date  to  date.  The 
figures  available  indicate  that  live  stock  has  not 
increased  as  rapidly  as  the  acreage  of  cotton. 


The  Cotton  Situation . 


339 


Fig.  13. — Excepting  in  southern  Florida,  only  cotton-growing  counties  of  some  importance  are  included.  Compare  Figures  13  and  9  and 
note  the  distribution  of  cotton  production  in  relation  to  soils.  The  most  productive  soils  are  the  bottoms  of  the  Mississippi  and 
tributary  rivers,  the  black  prairies  of  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and  Texas.  Fertilizer  makes  the  upper  Coastal  Plain  and  the  Piedmont 
Plateau  of  Atlantic  Coast  States  very  productive. 


340  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  19%1. 

Arkansas,  western  Tennessee,  and  northern  Louisiana,  and 
into  Texas  and  Oklahoma.  The  densest  production  of  cotton 
is  found  on  the  soils  most  suitable  for  its  production  in  the 
center  of  this  belt.  (Figs.  9  and  13.)  Both  soil  and  climate 
are  very  important  factors  in  the  determination  of  areas 
suitable  for  cotton  production. 

About  two-thirds  of  the  Cotton  Belt  consists  of  a  broad 
coastal  plain,  composed  principally  of  sedimentary  materials, 
bordering  and  largely  derived  from  two  ancient  and  much- 
eroded  mountain  masses,  the  Appalachian  Highlands  (in¬ 
cluding  the  Piedmont)  in  the  east  and  the  Ozark  Highlands 
in  the  west.  From  these  highland  areas  rivers  radiate  across 
the  coastal  plain,  bordered,  especially  along  their  lower 
courses,  by  swampy  flood  plains  often  several  miles  wide ;  and 
in  the  broad  depression  between  these  two  highlands  the  Mis¬ 
sissippi  River  flows  southward,  dividing  the  Cotton  Belt  into 
an  eastern  and  western  section  approximately  equal  in  area, 
in  acreage  of  improved  land,  and  in  production  of  cotton. 
Beyond  the  boundary  of  the  coastal  plain  the  Cotton  Belt 
includes  northern  and  western  marginal  regions,  comprising 
a  portion  of  the  Piedmont  Plateau  and  of  the  valleys  associ¬ 
ated  with  the  Cumberland  Plateau  and  Blue  Ridge  Moun¬ 
tains  in  the  east,  together  with  the  valleys  of  the  southern 
Ozarks  (Ouachita  and  Boston  Mountains)  and  a  portion  of 
the  prairies  and  great  plains  of  Texas  and  Oklahoma  in  the 
west. 

Soils  of  the  Cotton  Belt. 

Cotton  is  grown  on  practically  all  well-drained  types  of 
soil  in  the  Cotton  Belt,  but  a  comparison  of  the  map  showing 
distribution  of  production  with  the  map  showing  soils  brings 
out  the  fact  that  certain  types  of  soil  seem  to  be  much  more 
suitable  for  cotton  production  than  other  types.  (See  Figs. 
9,  13.)  The  most  productive  soils  in  a  normal  season  are  the 
dark-colored  clay  lands,  particularlv  those  rich  in  lime,  such 
as  the  black  prairies  of  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and  Texas,  and 
the  red,  brown,  and  black  well-drained  river  bottom  land  and 
the  second  bottoms  such  as  are  found  in  the  Mississippi,  Ten¬ 
nessee,  and  Arkansas.  The  sandy  loams  of  the  Coastal  Plain 
and  the  red  subsoil  Piedmont  lands,  when  fertilized,  also  give 
high  yields  of  cotton.  The  use  of  fertilizer  permits  the 
growing  of  cotton  on  light  sandy  land  which  would  other 


The  Cotton  Situation . 


341 


wise  give  yields  too  low  to  be  profitable.  The  red  prairie  of 
Texas  and  Oklahoma  east  Oklahoma  prairie  and  that  part 
of  the  Grand  Prairie  and  Edwards  Plateau  of  Texas  are  also 
productive  soils,  but  in  western  Oklahoma  and  Texas  the 
yields  of  the  crops  are  frequently  reduced  by  drought.  (For 
detailed  description  of  the  soils  shown  on  the  map  on  page 
339,  see  Atlas  of  American  Agriculture,  cotton  section.) 

Climate  of  the  Cotton  Belt.1 

Although  the  most  noticeable  differences  in  the  density 
of  cotton  acreage  and  variations  in  yield  per  acre  within  the 
Cotton  Belt  are  due  principally  to  soil  conditions,  the  outer 
boundaries  of  cotton  production  are  determined  almost  en¬ 
tirely  by  climatic  factors.  The  Cotton  Belt  has  an  average 
summer  temperature  of  77  degrees  along  the  northern  bound¬ 
ary.  This  temperature  appears  to  be  the  limit,  beyond  which 
commercial  production  becomes  unprofitable.  In  the  south¬ 
ern  portion  of  the  Cotton  Belt  the  summer  temperature  is  80 
to  85  degrees.  Along  the  northern  margin  of  the  Cotton  Belt 
the  last  killing  frost  in  spring  occurs  on  an  average  about 
April  10,  and  the  first  killing  frost  in  fall  about  October  25, 
so  that  the  frostless  season  is  about  200  days.  In  the  southern 
portion  of  the  Cotton  Belt  the  last  killing  frost  in  spring 
occurs  about  March  10  on  the  average,  and  the  first  killing 
frost  in  fall  seldom  before  November  25,  the  frostless  season 
being  260  days  or  more  in  length. 

The  average  annual  precipitation  in  the  Cotton  Belt 
ranges  from  23  inches  in  western  Oklahoma  and  Texas  to 
55  inches  in  eastern  North  Carolina  and  60  inches  in  southern 
Mississippi,  but  throughout  much  of  the  belt  is  between  30 
and  50  inches.  The  spring  rainfall  ranges  from  6  inches  in 
western  Texas  to  16  inches  in  Arkansas  and  southern  Mis¬ 
sissippi,  being  heavier  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  States  than 
in  Texas  or  the  South  Atlantic  States.  The  summer  rainfall 
is  somewhat  greater  than  that  of  the  other  seasons,  especially 
in  the  southern  and  eastern  portion  of  the  belt,  reaching  a 
maximum  of  20  inches  in  southern  Mississippi  and  in  eastern 
North  and  South  Carolina,  while  in  the  black  prairie  region 
of  central  Texas  the  amount  received  averages  only  8  inches. 
Autumn  is  the  driest  season  of  the  year,  practically  all  the 

1  Taken  from  the  “  Cotton  ”  section  of  the  Atlas  of  American  Agriculture, 
page  9. 


342  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  19%1. 


Fig.  14. — In  southern  Texas  planting  begins  about  March  1,  and  the  date 
becomes  later  going  north  to  the  northern  border  of  the  Cotton  Belt,  where 
it  begins  about  April  21.  The  planting  of  cotton  begins  generally  about  10 
to  20  days  after  the  last  killing  frost  in  spring. 


Fig.  15. — Cotton  picking  begins  early  in  July  in  southern  Texas.  Through  the 
center  of  the  Cotton  Belt  it  begins  in  the  latter  part  of  August  and  along 
the  northern  border  not  until  about  September  11.  The  southern  part  of  the 
Cotton  Belt  has  a  long  picking  season,  but  along  the  northern  border  the 
cotton  must  be  picked  as  early  as  possible  to  escape  the  frost. 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


343 


important  cotton  regions  receiving  less  than  10  inches  of  rain 
during  the  fall  months.  February  and  November  are  the 
wettest  months  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  States,  in  Alabama, 
and  in  northern  Georgia.  August  is  the  wettest  month  in 
the  Carolinas  and  May  in  Texas  and  Oklahoma.  October 
and  November  are  the  driest  months  throughout  practically 
the  entire  Cotton  Belt. 

Crop  Combinations  in  the  Cotton  Belt. 

The  high  degree  of  specialization  in  cotton  production  in 
the  Cotton  Belt  is  in  part  explained  by  three  things:  First, 
the  world  demand  for  cotton  is  great,  and  the  areas  having 
especially  favorable  climate  and  other  conditions  are  re¬ 
stricted.  Second,  cotton  provides  rather  steady  employment 
for  labor  from  early  in  the  spring  to  a  little  beyond  the 
middle  of  the  summer  and  from  early  fall  to  early  winter. 
In  fact,  it  provides  so  fully  for  the  employment  of  labor 
throughout  the  season  that  a  cotton  farmer  usually  chooses 
his  other  crops  more  with  a  view  to  making  the  business  and 
home  partly  self-sufficing  than  he  does  with  a  view  to  pro¬ 
viding  profitable  employment  for  labor  at  times  when  cotton 
does  not  require  attention.  (See  Fig.  18,  seasonal  distribu¬ 
tion  of  labor.)  Third,  cotton  is  marketed  direct — that  is,  it 
is  not  disposed  of  through  live  stock.  If  it  were  a  crop  to  be 
fed,  a  farmer  would  in  all  probability  need  to  give  more 
attention  than  he  does  to  the  production  of  other  crops  which 
would  be  supplementary  from  the  standpoint  of  caring  for 
live  stock.  As  it  is,  he  produces  forage  and  grain  crops 
mainly  for  a  few  head  of  work  stock.  Considering  these 
things,  it  is  not  surprising  that  cotton  farmers  are  not  in¬ 
clined  to  produce  more  corn,  sorghum,  oats,  cowpeas,  peanuts, 
sweet  potatoes,  etc.,  than  they  themselves  can  make  good  use 
of  in  the  course  of  producing  and  marketing  cotton. 

The  accompanying  map  (Fig.  16)  shows  the  Cotton  Belt 
divided  north  and  south  and  east  and  west  on  the  basis  of 
certain  differences  in  the  choice  of  crops  grown  with  cotton. 
The  line  drawn  north  and  south  through  Oklahoma  and 
Texas  indicates  where  corn  begins  rather  definitely  to  give 
way  to  kafir  and  other  grain  sorghums.  But  for  the  dryness 
of  the  climate  to  the  west  of  this  line,  corn  would  hold  its 
place  on  cotton  farms  throughout  the  Cotton  Belt. 


344  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 


Fig.  16. — North  of  the  line  drawn  through  the  Cotton  Belt  from  Virginia  on 
the  east  down  through  the  Southern  States  and  extending  to  the  Mexican 
border  on  the  west  wheat  and  other  small  grains  appear  in  the  cropping 
system.  South  of  this  line  small  grains  do  not  appear,  their  place  being 
taken  by  leguminous  crops.  Another  line  drawn  from  the  Kansas  border 
across  Oklahoma  and  Texas  separates  the  kaflr-producing  area  from  the 
corn-producing  area. 


COTTON  ACREAGE  W 


70  %  AND  OVER 


COTTON  ACREAGE,  AND  PERCENTAGE 
COTTON  ACREAGE  IS  OF  ACREACE  OF  ALL  CROPS 


STATE 

COTTON 

ACREAGE 

PERCENT 
OP  ALL 
CROPS 

Tenn.  .  . 

807,770 

10.9 

Ha _ 

110,562 

6.0 

Mo  ...  . 

110,027 

.7 

Ariz.  .  .  . 

106,283 

22.5 

Calif .  .  . 

87,308 

1.3 

Va . 

47,032 

.8 

N.  Mex.  . 

10,666 

.9 

Other . . 

5,355 

u.  s 

33,740,106 

9.0 

Fig.  17. — Considering  State  totals,  the  greatest  specialization  in  cotton  is  in 
Texas,  with  South  Carolina  second  and  Mississippi  third.  In  several  areas 
over  70  per  cent  of  all  the  land  in  crops  is  in  cotton.  The  largest  area  of 
this  kind  is  along  the  Mississippi  River  in  Mississippi  and  Arkansas. 


The  Cotton  Situation . 


345 


North  of  the 
line  running 
east  and  west 
through  the 
Cotton  Belt 
the  acreage  of 
small  grains 
(wheat,  rye, 
etc. )  exceeds 
the  acreage  of 
large  -  seeded 
annual  leg- 
umes  (cow- 
peas,  peanuts, 
velvet  beans, 
etc. ) .  South 
of  the  line  the 
acreage  of 
large  -  seeded 
annual  leg¬ 
umes  exceeds 
the  acreage  of 
small  grains. 
The  choice  of 
the  small 
grains  in  the 
northern  divi¬ 
sion  of  the  Cot¬ 
ton  Belt  tends 
to  be  wheat  to 
the  north  and 
oats  to  the 
south.  The 
oats  are  sown 
in  the  autumn 
instead  of  the 
spring  as  in 
the  North.  In 
the  southern 
division  of  the 
belt,  where 


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crops  like  cowpeas,  peanuts,  and  velvet  beans  are  more 


Fig.  18. — The  periods  of  slack  work  come  in  midsummeir — July  and  August — and  in  midwinter — December  and  January.  No  crops  are 
grown  on  which  labor  can  be  utilized  during  these  periods  of  slack  work.  Of  course,  in  the  farthest  South  winter  vegetables  can  be 
grown  in  the  slack  winter  period.  Some  grass  harvest  comes  in  August,  but  it  is  not  important.  The  picking  season  is  the  limiting 
period  for  labor  on  cotton.  At  the  same  time  corn  should  be  snapped,  oats  should  be  seeded,  sweet  potatoes  dug,  and  grass  harvested. 
It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  where  cotton  is  a  very  profitable  crop  these  other  crops  may  not  receive  much  attention. 


346  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

important,  oats  are  practically  the  only  small  grain  grown. 
This  lower  part  of  the  Cotton  Belt  lies  almost  wholly  within 
the  Coastal  Plain,  where  climatic  conditions  generally  are 
less  favorable  to  the  production  of  small  grains  than  they 
are  farther  north. 

The  choice  of  the  large-seeded  annual  legumes  in  the 
southern  division  of  the  Cotton  Belt  tends  to  be  cowpeas  in 
the  Mississippi  River  bottoms  and  to  the  east  along  the  up¬ 
per  part  of  the  Coastal  Plains,  peanuts  and  velvet  beans  else¬ 
where  between  eastern  Texas  and  southeastern  Georgia,  and 
peanuts  alone  in  northeastern  North  Carolina  and  southeast¬ 
ern  Virginia.  The  share  of  land  allotted  to  these  crops  in 
the  Coastal  Plains  of  southern  Texas  is  almost  negligible. 
In  the  northern  division  of  the  Cotton  Belt,  where  the  small 
grains  are  more  important,  a  little  land  is  allotted  to  cow- 
peas  and  peanuts,  but  very  little  to  velvet  beans. 

General  Farm  Practices. 

Time  and  method  of  preparing  land,  of  planting,  culti¬ 
vating,  picking  the  cotton,  and  the  cost  of  preparing  it  for 
market  vary  much  in  different  parts  of  the  South.  Prob¬ 
ably  in  most  cases  the  causes  of  the  differences  are  not  to  be 
found  only  in  the  different  customs;  there  are  also  physical 
and  economic  reasons  for  the  differences. 


Fig.  19. — One-mule  plow  in  Southeast. 


The  Cotton  Situation.  347 

Wherever  crab  grass,  Johnson  grass,  and  other  weeds 
grow  profusely  in  the  fields  the  cultivation  of  cotton  re¬ 
quires  from  one  to  three  hoeings  per  season.  With  one 
mule  a  man  can  plow,  chop,  and  hoe  from  10  to  20  acres, 
from  which  5  to  10  bales  of  cotton  are  produced,  and  this 
is  ordinarily  all  one  family  can  pick.  Therefore,  one-mule 
implements  are  used  over  the  greater  portion  of  the  east¬ 
ern  part  of  the  Cotton  Belt.  In  some  sections  the  topog¬ 
raphy  of  the  land  would  make  the  use  of  larger  implements 
difficult.  In  the  level,  black  lands  of  Texas,  however,  where, 


Fig.  20. — Two-mule  plow  in  Texas. 

owing  to  the  smaller  amount  or  absence  of  crab  grass,  the 
hoe  work  is  comparatively  small  and  where  transient  labor 
can  be  obtained  to  pick  the  cotton,  4-mule  implements  are 
frequently  used  in  preparing  the  land  and  2-mule  imple¬ 
ments  in  cultivating  it. 

The  newest  form  of  cotton  cultivation  in  the  United 
States  has  developed  in  the  irrigated  districts  of  the  South¬ 
west.  Here  the  essentially  distinctive  features  are  level¬ 
ing  the  land  so  that  the  entire  field  may  be  irrigated  uni- 


348  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

formly  and  regulating  the  water  so  as  to  produce  the  de¬ 
sired  results  in  producing  the  cotton.  Another  special  kind 
of  culture  is  used  in  producing  the  sea-island  cotton  of 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia. 

Fertilizers. 

Commercial  fertilizers  are  extensively  used  in  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  cotton  in  the  Southeastern  States.  (See  Fig.  21.) 
Comparing  Figure  21  with  Figure  13,  the  heaviest  use  of 
fertilizers  is  seen  to  be  on  the  soils  of  the  Coastal  Plains  of 


and  Tiedmont  of  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia.  Very  little  is  used  west  of 
Alabama.  Compare  the  distribution  of  expenditures  for  fertilizers  with 
distribution  of  cotton  production  (Fig.  9). 

North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  and  also  to 
a  considerable  extent  upon  the  soils  of  the  Piedmont  of  these 
States. 

The  fertilizers  most  generally  used  consist  of  acid  phos¬ 
phate,  kainit,  muriate  of  potash,  and  nitrate  of  soda.  In 
many  regions  the  greatest  outlay  of  cash  in  producing  the 
crop  is  for  the  fertilizers.  After  labor,  it  is  the  most  im¬ 
portant  factor  in  the  cost  of  producing  cotton  in  these 
Eastern  States. 


The  Cotton  Situation.  349 

Cotton  Pests. 

The  Boll  Weevil. 

The  original  home  of  the  boll  weevil  appears  to  be  the 
plateau  region  of  Mexico  or  Central  America.  Previous  to 
1892  the  insect  had  spread  through  much  of  Mexico.  Little 
is  known,  however,  concerning  the  extent  or  rapidity  of 
dispersion.  About  1892  the  weevil  crossed  the  Rio  Grande 
near  Brownsville,  Tex.  Whether  it  flew  across  or  was  trans¬ 
ported  in  some  way  is  not  known.  By  1894  it  had  spread  to 


Fig.  22. — Cotton  Doll  weevil  puncturing  young  flower  bud.  (Natural  size.) 

half  a  dozen  counties  in  southern  Texas.  Since  1894  it  has 
extended  its  range  annually  from  40  to  160  miles,  although 
in  several  instances  the  winter  conditions  have  been  such  as 
to  cause  a  decrease  in  the  infested  area.  (See  Fig.  23.) 

Outside  of  the  United  States  the  boll  weevil  is  known  to 
occur  throughout  the  larger  portion  of  Mexico  and  southward 
to  Guatemala  and  Costa  Rica.  It  is  known  to  occur  also 
in  the  eastern  half  of  Cuba. 

In  the  newly  invaded  region  of  the  Cotton  Belt  the  loss 
from  boll-weevil  damage  may  run  as  high  as  50  per  cent  or 
more  of  the  crop  and  invariably  creates  a  condition  border¬ 
ing  on  panic  among  cotton  planters.  Under  such  conditions 
diversified  farming  and  animal  husbandry  receive  a  powerful 
impetus.  As  time  passes,  however,  and  the  planters  learn 
the  proper  methods  of  raising  cotton  under  boll-weevil  con- 


350  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921 


Fig.  23. — In  1892  the  boll  weevil  crossed  the  Rio  Grande  from  Mexico  and  occupied  an  insignificant  area  in  the  extreme  southern  tip  of 
Texas.  Note  this  area,  indicated  by  the  short  line  and  the  figures  1892.  The  map  shows  the  subsequent  spread  of  the  weevil  year 
by  year. 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


351 


ditions,  a  considerable  reduction  of  the  loss  incident  to  the 
presence  of  the  weevil  is  apparent. 

The  actual  damage  done  by  the  boll  weevil  varies  greatly 
from  year  to  year.  A  very  mild  winter  is  invariably  fol¬ 
lowed  by  a  heavy  weevil  infestation  during  the  following 
summer.  Excessive  rainfall  during  the  summer  months  is 
also  conducive  to  greater  weevil  activity.  In  prairie  regions 
where  the  insect  obtains  little  or  no  protection  through  the 
winter,  it  never  becomes  so  numerous  as  in  other  quarters 
where  conditions  favorable  for  hibernation  are  found.  The 
Bureau  of  Crop  Estimates  of  this  department  in  the  fall  of 
1920  estimated  the  average  annual  loss  for  the  last  four  years 
to  be  about  $300,000,000. 

Hibernation  takes  place  in  the  adult  stage.  After  frost 
in  the  fall  the  last  surviving  generation  of  adults  seek  such 
shelter  as  may  be  found  under  old  cotton  stalks  and  dead 
grass,  or  in  near-by  woods.  In  regions  where  Spanish  moss 
is  abundant,  this  material  provides  a  favorite  place  for  the 
weevil  to  pass  the  winter.  An  average  of  about  6  per  cent 
of  the  weevils  entering  hibernation  in  the  fall  survive  the 
winter.  A  very  cold  winter  will  reduce  the  number  that  will 
survive,  and  a  very  mild  winter  will  augment  it.  In  the 
spring  the  survivors  emerge  from  hibernation,  breed,  and 
thus  start  another  generation.  Several  generations  are  pro¬ 
duced  each  year,  each  much  more  numerous  than  the  last 
preceding.  The  period  from  generation  to  generation  is 
about  25  days. 

The  boll  weevil  can  not  be  eradicated,  but  certain  measures 
may  be  taken  which,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  will  con¬ 
trol  it  to  the  extent  that  a  profitable  crop  of  cotton  may  be 
raised. 

During  comparatively  recent  years  a  system  of  boll- weevil 
control  by  the  use  of  calcium  arsenate  in  dry-dust  form  has 
been  developed.  It  has  been  thoroughly  tested  for  the  last 
seven  years  and  has  proved  to  be  fairly  successful.  Special¬ 
ized  treatment  of  the  plants  with  this  arsenical  is  necessary 
for  successful  control.  Publications  giving  details  of  this 
treatment  are  issued  by  the  Bureau  of  Entomology. 

In  addition  to  the  use  of  poison,  certain  other  measures  may 
be  taken  to  reduce  weevil  damage.  Fall  destruction  of  the 


352  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 


cotton  plants,  either  by  burning  or  by  plowing  under,  de¬ 
stroys  the  possible  hibernating  places  of  the  weevil  in  the 
fields.  If  it  ean  be  done  before  the  first  killing  frost  great 
numbers  of  weevils  will  be  destroyed. 

The  use  of  an  early  maturing  variety  of  cotton  is  impor¬ 
tant.  Likewise  the  seed  should  be  planted  as  early  in  the 
spring  as  possible  without  risk  of  damage  from  frost.  The 
object  of  this  is  to  get  the  crop  well  along  before  the  weevils 


have  become  nu¬ 
merous  enough  to 
be  destructive. 


The  Pink  Bollworm 


Fig.  24. — Pink  bollworm.  Adult,  larva,  pupa,  and 
egg.  (Enlarged.) 


The  pink  boll¬ 
worm  has  been 
known  in  other 
countries  as  a  de¬ 
structive  cotton 
pest  since  the  year 
1842,  at  which 
time  an  English 
entomo  1  ogist 
called  attention  to 
its  depredations 
in  India.  It  was  first  noted  in  Egypt  in  1911.  In  the  same 
year  the  pest  was  introduced  into  Mexico,  evidently  in  two 
importations  of  cotton  seed  from  Egypt.  The  fact  of  its 
establishment  in  Mexico  did  not  become  known  to  our  au¬ 
thorities  until  1916.  An  embargo  upon  Mexican  cotton  seed 
was  declared  immediately,  but  prior  to  this  order  large  quan¬ 
tities  of  seed  were  shipped  to  certain  oil  mills  in  Texas  for 
grinding.  On  September  10,  1917,  the  first  infestation  on 
American  soil  was  found  in  a  cotton  field  at  Hearne,  Tex. 

The  Hearne  district  was  then  made  a  cotton-free  zone — 
that  is,  no  cotton  was  grown  in  the  district — and  was  so 
maintained  for  three  years.  This  district  is  now  believed 
to  be  entirely  free  from  the  pest,  demonstrating  what  ma}T  be 
accomplished  where  adequate  control  is  maintained  for  a 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


353. 


period  of  years.  Other  areas  that  have  been  found  infested 
are  indicated  on  the  map  (Fig.  25). 

The  damage  which  might  result  from  the  uncontrolled 
infestation  of  the  Cotton  Belt  of  the  United  States  by  the 
pink  bollworm  can  be  estimated  only  by  the  damage  done 
elsewhere,  as  so  far  none  of  the  outbreaks  in  this  country 
have  been  allowed  to  go  entirely  uncontrolled.  In  November, 
1920,  a  commission  organized  by  the  Texas  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  after  a  careful  investigation  in  the  Laguna  dis¬ 
trict  of  Mexico,  where  the  insect  has  been  allowed  to  run  its 
natural  course,  submitted  a  report  indicating  a  loss  of  at 


Fig.  25. — The  pink  bollworm  was  discovered  in  certain  very  limited  areas  in 
Texas  in  1917  and  in  Louisiana  during  the  winter  of  1919-20.  The  pest 
has  apparently  been  stamped  out  in  Louisiana,  and  the  actual  infestation 
in  Texas  is  greatly  reduced. 

least  50  per  cent  of  the  cotton  crop  of  1920  of  that  district 
due  to  the  pink  bollworm.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  pink 
bollworm  is  probably  the  most  serious  single  cotton  pest  of 
the  world.  Its  potential  danger  is  greatly  enhanced  by  the 
habit  of  the  insect  in  the  larval  stage  of  entering  the  cotton 
seed  and  remaining  there  for  several  months  of  the  year. 
By  reason  of  this  habit  the  pest  is  easily  transported  to  any 
part  of  the  globe  where  cotton  seed  is  carried. 

The  only  chance  of  exterminating  this  pest  is  by  the  en¬ 
forcement  for  a  period  of  years  of  noncotton  zones  for  the 

5689°— 22 - 3 


354  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

invaded  areas,  and  any  attempt  at  control  which  permits  the 
continuation  of  the  growth  of  cotton  in  such  areas  will  be 
followed  by  the  inevitable  increase  of  the  pest  and  its  ulti¬ 
mate  spread  throughout  the  South.  Perhaps  the  most  de¬ 
termined  fight  which  any  nation  has  ever  waged  for  the 
eradication  of  a  single  insect  species  within  its  borders  has 
been  carried  on  since  the  discovery  of  the  pink  bollworm  in 
Texas,  and  the  end  is  not  yet. 

The  Cotton  Bollworm. 

Some  doubt  exists  whether  the  cotton  bollworm  is  a  native 
species  or  came  originally  from  some  other  country.  At 
any  rate,  long  before  the  advent  of  the  boll  weevil,  it  was 
one  of  the  oldest,  most  widely  distributed,  and  most  de¬ 
structive  of  injurious  insects.  It  is  a  general  feeder,  at¬ 
tacking  a  great  many  wild  and  cultivated  plants  other  than 
cotton. 

A  number  of  years  ago  the  annual  loss  to  the  cotton  crop 
caused  by  this  pest  was  estimated  at  $8,500,000.  The  dam¬ 
age,  however,  is  somewhat  sporadic,  being  worse  in  some 
years  than  in  others,  and  is  likely  to  be  very  uneven  over 
the  Cotton  Belt  in  any  one  year. 

The  insect  passes  the  winter  in  the  soil  in  one  of  the 
immature  stages.  Fall  or  winter  plowing  is  therefore  ad¬ 
vantageous  in  its  control.  In  fact  the  same  methods  of 
control  advocated  for  the  boll  weevil  are  applicable  to  this 
species.  If  calcium  arsenate  is  used  for  the  weevil,  this 
should  be  sufficient  for  the  control  of  the  bollworm. 

The  Cotton  Leafworm. 

The  cotton  leafworm  has  been  known  to  cotton  planters 
in  the  United  States  since  1793.  It  is  unique  in  that  it 
does  not  spend  the  winter  in  this  country.  It  is  a  native 
of  tropical  regions  south  of  the  United  States,  and  in  some 
years  does  not  appear  here  in  destructive  numbers.  At 
other  times  the  adult  moths  fly  northward,  reaching  our 
Cotton  Belt  fairly  early  in  the  season,  and  there  lay  eggs 
for  another  generation.  This  soon  appears  as  the  familiar 
defoliating  worm  At  the  end  of  the  season,  when  cold 
weather  sets  in,  all  stages  of  the  insect  within  our  borders 
succumb  to  climatic  conditions. 

The  species  is  easily  controlled  by  the  application  of  cal¬ 
cium  arsenate  as  for  the  boll  weevil. 


The  Cotton  Situation .  355 

Cotton  Diseases  in  the  United  States. 

Several  important  diseases  attack  the  cotton  crop  and 
cause  losses  which  in  1920  were  estimated  by  the  Plant  Dis¬ 
ease  Survey  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 
at  over  13  per  cent  of  the  total  production. 

Cotton  Wilt. 

Cotton  wilt  is  a  disease  which  causes  stunting,  wilting,  and 
death  of  the  entire  plant.  It  is  due  to  a  fungus,  Fusarium, 


Fig.  26. — Four  important  diseases  of  cotton.  A,  An  eelworm  bores  into 
cotton  roots  and  causes  rootknot.  B,  The  angular  leaf  spot  produces  dead 
areas  on  the  leaves  and  rotting  of  the  bolls.  £,  The  wilt  disease  stunts 
the  plants  and  causes  blackening  of  the  inside  of  the  stalks.  D,  This  boll 
rot  is  due  to  anthracnose. 


356  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

which  enters  the  roots  and  plugs  the  water  vessels.  This 
parasite  remains  indefinitely  in  the  soil,  so  that  infested  fields 
cannot  be  planted  to  the  ordinary  kinds  of  cotton.  Resistant 
varieties  bred  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  have  come 
into  general  use,  however,  and  constitute  an  effective  remedy 
for  wilt.  This  trouble  is  widely  distributed  in  the  sandy 
soils  of  the  coastal  plain,  from  southern  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina  to  Arkansas  and  eastern  Texas,  and  is  occasionally 
met  in  the  Piedmont  and  other  districts.  (See  Fig.  26.) 

Texas  Root-Rot. 

Texas  root-rot  is  due  to  another  serious  soil-infesting 
fungus,  which  occurs  from  Texas  and  Arkansas  westward, 
principally  on  the  black  waxy  or  heavier  types  of  soils.  This 
causes  a  wilting  of  cotton  over  large  areas  in  midsummer  and 
constitutes  a  serious  problem,  as  alfalfa,  sweet  potatoes,  many 
fruits,  and  other  crops  are  also  susceptible,  and  because  no 
thoroughly  effective  remedy  is  known. 

Root-Knot. 

Root-knot,  a  disease  characterized  by  abnormal  galls  or 
swellings  of  the  roots,  is  due  to  a  tiny  eelworm  or  nematode. 
The  plants  are  dwarfed  and  the  yield  reduced.  Root-knot 
occurs  commonly  in  association  with  wilt  on  the  same  types 
of  sandy  soil.  It  attacks  a  very  large  number  of  other  crops. 
Its  control  is  based  on  rotation  with  immune  crops  or  varie¬ 
ties,  involving  a  readjustment  of  crop  rotation. 

Rust. 

Rust  is  a  name  commonly  used  for  a  trouble  marked  by  the 
early  defoliation  and  premature  death  of  cotton  on  soils 
lacking  in  vegetable  matter  and  potash  or  poorly  drained. 
It  occurs  throughout  the  Cotton  Belt  and  causes  large  losses 
annually.  The  trouble  is  controllable  by  good  farming 
methods,  particularly  by  the  use  of  potash  fertilizers,  stable 
manure,  or  green  manuring,  and  by  drainage. 

Anthracnose 

Anthracnose  is  a  fungous  disease  of  the  cotton  plant  spread 
through  the  use  of  infected  seed.  It  may  cause  a  damping- 
off  of  the  young  seedlings  and  some  injury  to  the  plant,  but 


The  Cotton  Situation.  357 

is  most  harmful  as  a  cause  of  boll  rot  in  wet  weather.  An- 
thracnose  occurs  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  over  the  entire 
Cotton  Belt.  It  may  be  controlled  by  crop  rotation  and  the 
use  of  disease-free  seed. 

Angular  Leaf-Spot. 

Angular  leaf-spot,  or  bacterial  blight,  can  be  found  in 
nearly  every  cotton  field  throughout  the  Cotton  Belt  as  a 
leaf-spot,  stem  blight,  and  boll  rot;  but  Upland  cotton  is 
quite  resistant  to  it,  and  the  losses  are  therefore  not  as  great 
as  in  Egyptian  cotton,  which  is  very  susceptible.  The  most 
effective  method  of  control  combines  the  use  of  disease-free 
seed  with  crop  rotation. 

All  of  these  diseases  are  described  more  fully  in  Farmers’ 
Bulletin  1187. 

Cost  of  Production. 

The  problem  of  making  ends  meet  has  been  especially 
serious  for  cotton  growers  in  1920  and  1921.  Expenses  have 
been  high  and  prices  low.  Relief  has  been  sought  in  efforts 
to  enhance  the  prices  to  producers  by  various  methods 
without  marked  success.  Since  the  prices  for  each  crop  are 
determined  after  production  and  without  regard  to  costs, 
farmers  must  attempt  to  forecast  prices  and  to  adjust  opr 
erations  so  as  to  produce  at  a  cost  which  will  return  a  profit 
at  the  price  for  which  the  cotton  will  sell.  Some  farmers 
may  not  find  it  possible  to  reduce  their  costs  low  enough 
to  meet  prospective  low  prices  for  cotton,  but  may  be  able 
to  produce  something  else  with  profit.  In  any  case  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  costs  may  be  helpful  to  a  farmer  in  determining 
how  much  cotton  he  should  try  to  produce  and  how  much 
he  may  profitably  expend  in  producing  it. 

A  grower  who  knows  his  own  actual  cost  of  production, 
and  has  average  or  standard  figures  to  compare  with  his 
own,  is  in  a  fair  way  to  stop  small  leaks  in  his  expenses  and 
to  reinforce  those  features  of  his  practice  in  which  he  has 
an  advantage. 

To  assist  cotton  growers  in  establishing  reasonable  aver¬ 
ages  and  working  standards  and  to  assemble  cost  informa¬ 
tion,  which  individuals  acquire  only  slowly,  the  Office  of 
Farm  Management  and  Farm  Economics  undertook  coihpre- 


358  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  19*21. 

hensive  studies  of  the  cost  of  producing  cotton.  (See  Fig. 
27.)  The  first  of  these  was  made  for  the  crop  of  1918,  in 
10  representative  counties  in  4  States,  the  actual  cost  of 
producing  cotton  in  1918  being  worked  out  for  842  farms. 
(See  Bulletin  896,  U.  S.  Dept,  of  Agriculture.)  A  similar 
study  was  made  for  the  crop  grown  in  1919,  the  results  of 
which  are  summarized  in  the  charts  on  pages  following. 


Fig.  27. — Location  of  surveys  and  cost  of  production  studies  in  the  Cotton  Belt. 
The  first  of  these  was  made  for  the  crop  of  1918  in  10  representative  counties 
in  4  States.  The  results  of  the  surveys  made  in  1919  are  summarized  in 
charts  that  follow. 

Variation  in  Cost  of  Production. 

A  farmer  who  is  keeping  his  own  records  and  comparing 
with  others  must  recognize  the  fact  that  costs  necessarily 
vary  from  farm  to  farm,  as  well  as  from  one  region  to  an¬ 
other.  This  is  due  to  variations  in  the  character  of  pro¬ 
ducers  themselves,  as  well  as  in  the  character  of  the  land 
and  of  the  methods  employed  in  growing  the  crop.  The 
variation  in  the  net  cost  of  lint  cotton  per  pound  on  783 
farms  in  1919  (Fig.  28),  illustrates  the  wide  range  of  costs. 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


359 


cent,  was  produced  at  a  cost  up  to  50  cents  per  pound. 


360  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  19%1. 

It  costs  more  to  produce  cotton  in  some  regions  than  in 
others.  The  net  cost  per  acre  and  the  net  cost  per  pound 
of  lint  in  1919  are  shown  in  Figure  29  for  each  of  11  typical 
Cotton  Belt  counties.  The  average  yields  per  acre  reported 
in  each  case  are  shown  in  a  column  to  the  right  of  the  chart. 
It  will  be  noted  that  high  cost  per  acre  with  good  yields 
may  result  in  low  cost  per  pound,  and  low  cost  per  acre  with 
ordinary  or  poor  yields  in  high  cost  per  pound.  In  fact, 
judicious  expenditures  for  fertilizer,  good  seed,  good  care 
of  the  crop,  or  a  combination  of  them,  pays.  In  any  year 
much  depends  upon  the  seasonal  weather.  The  1919  crop 
was  practically  a  failure  in  three  of  the  counties  surveyed. 


Fig.  29. — Variations  both  in  the  cost  per  acre  and  in  the  yield  per  acre  cause 
variations  in  the  net  cost  per  pound  of  lint.  The  average  acre  in  Anderson 
County  cultivated  at  the  high^fet  cost  in  1919  produced  the  highest  average 
yield  at  the  lowest  cost  per  pound.  It  is  not  always  the  greater  the  cost 
the  higher  the  yield.  Note  Lee  County,  Ark. 

The  distribution  of  costs  differs  with  the  practice,  as  is 
shown  in  Figure  30  for  several  of  the  more  important  factors. 
Thus  labor  per  acre  is  relatively  low  in  Ellis  County,  Tex., 
where  the  fields  are  large  and  level  enough  to  permit  the 
use  of  two  horses  and  riding  cultivators  instead  of  a  man 
to  each  mule.  In  the  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  counties 
the  use  of  fertilizer  was  very  general  and  liberal,  while  in 
Ellis  County,  Tex.,  no  fertilizer  was  used  on  cotton,  and  only 
one  of  the  farms  in  Lee  County,  Ark.,  reported  use  of  fer¬ 
tilizer.  The  value  of  the  land,  use  cost,  or  rent  of  land  is 


The  Cotton  Situation , 


361 


COTTON 

COST  OF  PRODUCTION 

TOGETHER  WITH  VALUES  OF  FARM  PROPERTY  AND  FARM  INCOMES,  1919 
AS  REPORTED  BY  7B3  FARMERS  IN  11  COUNTIES 
(  THE  AREAS  ARE  ARRANGED  BY  TOTAL  COST  PER  ACRE.  THE  HIGHEST  AT  THE  TOP  ) 


MAN  LABOR 


AREAS  SURVEYED 
ANDERSON  CO..  S.C. 
MARSHALL  CO-  ALA. 
BARNWELL  CO,  S.C. 
GREENE  CO,  GA. 

LEE  CO,  ARK. 
LAUDERDALE  CO,  ALA 
MITCHELL  CO,  GA 
MONROE  CO,  MISS. 
LAURENS  CO,  GA 
ELLIS  CO,  TEX. 

RUSH  CO, TEA 


HORSE  AND  MULE  LABOR 


AREAS  SURVEYED 
ANDERSON  CO,  S.C. 
MARSHALL  CO,  ALA. 
BARNWELL  CO,  S.C 
GREENE  CO,  GA. 

LEE  CO,  ARK 
LAUDERDALE  CO,  ALA 
MITCHELL  CO.  GA 
MONROE  CO,  MISS. 
LAURENS  CO,  GA. 

ELLIS  CO,  TEX. 

RUSH  CO,  TEX. 


HOURS  PER  ACRE 


COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZER  USED 


AVERAGE  VALUE  OF  CROP  LAND 


AREAS  SURVEYED 
ANDERSON  CO,  S.C. 
MARSHALL  CO,  ALA 
BARNWELL  CO.  S.C 
GREENE  CO,  GA 
LEE  CO,  ARK 
LAUDERDALE  CO.  ALA 
MITCHELL  CO.  GA 
MONROE  CO.  MISS. 
LAURENS  CO.  GA 
ELLIS  CO.  TEX. 

RUSH  CO.  TEX. 


m 


AREAS  SURVEYED 
ANDERSON  CO.  S.C. 
MARSHALL  CO.  ALA 
BARNWELL  C0„  S.C 
GREENE  CO.  GA. 

LEE  CO,  ARK. 
LAUDERDALE  CO.  ALA. 
MITCHELL  CO.  GA. 
MONROE  CO,  MISS. 
LAURENS  CO.  GA. 
ELLIS  CO.  TEX. 

RUSH  CO.  TEX. 


DOLLARS  PER  ACRE 


AVERAGE  TOTAL  INVESTMENT 


FARM  INCOMES 


YIELD  OF  LINT  COTTON 


AREAS  SURVEYED 
ANDERSON  CO,  S.C. 
MARSHALL  CO.,  ALA 
BARNWELL  CO,  S.C 
GREENE  CO.  GA 
LEE  CO,  ARK. 
LAUDERDALE  CO.,  ALA. 
MITCHELL  CO,  GA. 
MONROE  CO..  MISS. 
LAURENS  CO.  GA. 
ELLIS  CO.,  TEX. 

RUSH  CO,  TEX. 


THOUSANDS  or  DOLLARS 


AREAS  SURVEYED 
ANDERSON  CO.  SC. 
MARSHALL  CO,  ALA. 
BARNWELL  CO,  S.C. 
GREENE  CO,  GA. 

LEE  CO.  ARK. 
LAUDERDALE  CO.  ALA 
MITCHELL  CO.  GA. 
MONROE  CO.  MISS. 
LAURENS  CO.  GA. 
ELUS  CO.  TEX. 

RUSH  CO.  TEX. 


HUNDREOS  OF  DOLLARS 


AREAS  SURVEYED 
ANDERSON  CO.  S.C. 
MARSHALL  CO.  ALA. 
BARNWELL  CO,  S.C 
GREENE  CO.  GA. 

LEE  CO.  ARK. 
LAUDERDALE  CO..  ALA. 
MITCHELL  CO.  GA. 
MONROE  CO.  MISS. 
LAURENS  CO.  GA. 
ELUS  CO.  TEX. 

RUSH  CO  TEX. 


Fig.  30. — Counties  are  arranged  in  the  order  of  the  total  cost  per  acre,  the 
highest  at  the  top.  Note  especially  the  contrast  between  Anderson  County, 
S.  C.,  and  Ellis  County,  Tex.  Cost  per  acre  and  yield  per  acre  in  Anderson 
County  stands  first  among  all  the  counties,  is  second  in  value  of  fertilizers 
used,  in  value  of  crop  land,  and  in  farm  income ;  whereas  Ellis  County  had 
next  to  the  lowest  yields  produced  with  the  smallest  amount  of  iabor,  no 
fertilizer,  and  gave  an  average  farm  income  on  crop  land  averaging  the 
highest  in  value  of  any  of  the  counties. 


362  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

another  widely  variable  item,  the  lowest  values  being  found 
in  Rush  County,  Tex.,  and  the  highest  in  Ellis  County, 
Tex.  In  addition  to  the  average  expense  of  labor,  horse 
labor,  fertilizer,  and  value  of  land,  the  chart  shows  also  the 
value  of  the  total  farm  capital,  the  farm  income  for  1919, 
and  the  yield  of  lint  cotton  per  acre. 

An  Example. 


As  a  guide  for  the  use  of  farmers  who  wish  to  determine 
their  actual  costs  for  any  season  promptly  and  very  closely, 

Example  for  figuring  costs  per  acre  of  cotton  and  per  pound  of  lint. 


Items. 

Figures  for  Mitchell 
County,  Ga.,  crop 
of  1919. 

Your  farm. 

1921 

1922 

Amount. 

Price. 

Cost. 

Amount. 

Price. 

Cost. 

Amount. 

Price. 

Cost. 

Labor: 

Man . 

100  hours.. 

48  do.... 

1  bushel . 

$0. 30 

.25 

1.35 

1.021 

$30. 00 

12.00 

1.35 

6. 13 

Mule . 

Seed  (bushel=  30 
pounds) . . 

' 

Fertilizer . 

292  pounds . . 

Total  of  foregoing 
items  (84.4  per 
cent  of  operating 
cost)1 2 . 

49. 48 

58.63 

12.00 

Total  operating 
cost(100  percent) 
Credit  seed 

300  pounds.. 

3.04 

Net  operating  cost 
per  acre . 

1 . 

46.63 

.29 

4.02 

50.65 

.32 

Net  operating  cost 
per  pound 
($46.63=  159 
pounds). 

Rent  of  land  or  in¬ 
terest  on  invest¬ 
ment,  per  acre. . 

Total  net  cost  per 
acre  (including 
rent). _  _ 

$67.00 

6% 

Total  net  cost  per 
pound  (includ¬ 
ing  rentl _ 

1  Price,  $42  per  ton. 

2  Operating  costs  represent  all  costs  except  interest  on  land.  The  remaining  15.6  per  cent 
of  operating  costs  is  made  up  of  manure,  equipment,  taxes,  insurance,  ginning,  and  overhead. 

8  $80  per  ton. 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


363 


an  example  is  worked  out,  using  the  figures  for  Mitchell 
County,  Ga.,  and  space  is  provided  for  setting  down  the 
figures  for  any  individual  farm.  It  is  best  to  use  the  actual 
figures,  if  possible,  but  even  in  case  no  attention  has  been  paid 
to  the  time  and  materials  used  one  can  not  go  very  far  astray 
if  careful  estimates  are  made  by  means  of  comparisons  with 
average  or  standard  figures.  In  each  case  the  yield  of  cotton 
should  be  estimated  as  closely  as  possible,  because  errors  in 
the  yield  will  make  considerable  differences  in  the  computa¬ 
tions  of  cost  per  pound. 

Costs  and  Prices. 

Though  producers  are  more  or  less  at  the  mercy  of  con¬ 
sumers  with  respect  to  price,  they  can  exercise  considerable 

FARM  PRICE  OF  COTTON  AND  THE  PRICE  OF  FERTILIZER 
GEORGIA  1913  1918  AND  1921 


Fig.  31. — The  cost  of  fertilizers  is  a  very  important  item  in  the  cost  of  produc¬ 
tion  in  the  South  Atlantic  States.  The  data  represented  here  for  1913,  1918, 
are  taken  from  surveys  of  Sumter  County,  Ga.  For  1921  prices  represent 


Georgia. 


364  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

control  over  the  cost  of  their  product.  When  prices  were 
going  up  and  the  prospects  for  higher  prices  were  still  good 
costs  were  voluntarily  increased,  because  it  was  good  judg^ 
ment  to  pay  higher  prices  for  labor,  fertilizer,  land,  and 
machinery,  if  it  were  necessary  in  order  to  produce  the 
cotton.  The  average  cost  of  the  1918  crop  was  approxi¬ 
mately  22  cents  a  pound,  while  the  average  farm  price  was 


Fig.  32. — The  price  of  cotton  fell  to  a  low  point  in  1914,  rose  to  high  points 
1916—1919,  and  fell  to  a  low  point  in  1920.  Wages  and  prices  of  articles 
farmers  huy  rose  less  rapidly  in  the  period  of  inflation  and  fell  more  slowly 
with  deflation. 

28.76  cents  a  pound,  or  enough  to  cover  the  cost  of  85  per 
cent  of  the  crop.  Prices  were  still  rising  in  1919  and  costs 
averaged  35  cents  a  pound,  which  was  just  about  the  farm 
price  of  35.36  cents  a  pound,  and  half  the  growers  failed  to 
make  costs.  When  the  crop  of  1920  was  planted  cotton  prices 
were  still  high  and  no  particular  effort  was  made  to  cut 
expenses.  While  the  crop  was  growing  the  price  was 
falling,  with  the  result  that  the  crop  produced  at  a  high 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


365 


cost  had  to  be  sold  at  a  low  price.  Some  retrenchment  was 
made  in  1921,  as  evidenced  by  the  lower  wages  paid  and  the 
lower  prices  for  materials,  but'  not  enough  to  offset  the 
combined  effect  of  a  good  crop,  a  large  hold  over,  and  a 
stagnant  market.  The  relative  changes  in  the  cost  of  pro¬ 
duction  for  the  years  1910  to  1921  are  indicated  in  Figure 
32,  farm  wages  and  the  prices  of  things  farmers  buy  being 
used  as  an  index  of  the  movement  of  the  cost  of  producing 
cotton. 

Organization  for  Profitable  Production. 

The  cost  of  producing  farm  products,  the  farm  income,  and 
the  welfare  of  the  farm  family  and  the  community  are 
strongly  influenced  by  the  enterprises  selected  and  their  rela¬ 
tive  magnitudes  in  the  organization  of  the  farm. 

It  has  been  found  that  those  cotton  farmers  who  in  plan¬ 
ning  their  cropping  systems  provide  first  for  sufficient  acre¬ 
ages  of  corn,  small  grains,  hay,  and  other  feed  crops  (includ¬ 
ing  among  these  cowpeas,  peanuts,  velvet  beans,  and  similar 
crops  planted  by  themselves  and  interplanted  among  rows 
of  other  crops),  not  only  to  feed  pigs,  chickens,  the  farm 
work  stock,  and  the  family  cows,  but  also  to  build  up  and 
maintain  soil  fertility,  are  able  to  produce  cotton  at  low 
cost,  and  they  get  the  best  returns  for  land  used  and  capital 
and  labor  expended.  These  farmers  usually  plan  for  as 
many  acres  of  cotton  as  they  can  care  for  properly  and  har¬ 
vest  early  with  the  available  farm  equipment  and  such  out¬ 
side  assistance  as  may  be  relied  upon. 

Proper  care  of  the  crop  involves  thorough  preparatory  till¬ 
age,  proper  application  of  fertilizers  and  manures,  thorough 
cultivation,  and  thorough  and  persistent  combative  measures 
against  the  boll  weevil  and  other  destructive  insects. 

After  providing  for  farm  needs,  including  fertility,  and 
for  such  acreages  of  cotton  as  can  be  well  cared  for,  other 
enterprises  may  be  selected  in  order  to  make  use  of  unutilized 
land  and  labor.  Such  enterprises  may  increase  food  and  feed 
for  sale  or  for  some  productive  live  stock  enterprise,  but  care 
must  be  taken  that  these  added  enterprises  do  not  seriously 
compete  with  cotton  in  its  labor  requirements  or  tend  to 
diminish  the  fertility  of  the  soil. 

The  choice  of  crops  and  groupings  will  vary  according  to 
conditions.  For  example,  in  Figure  33  are  given  the  average 


366  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  19*21. 

relative  sizes  of  the  crop  enterprises  on  some  of  the  more 
profitable  1-mule  to  6-mule  farms  in  communities  in  Sumter 
and  Brooks  Counties,  Ga.,  in  1913  and  1914.  A  marked  dif¬ 
ference  will  be  noted  in  the  organization  of  the  two  com¬ 
munities.  In  the  Sumter  County  community,  after  making 
fair  provision  for  the  farm  needs,  the  remainder  of  the  land 
was  devoted  largely  to  cotton,  the  most  important  commercial 
enterprise.  In  the  Brooks  County  community  the  soil  was 
thinner  and  it  was  necessary  to  pay  particular  attention  to 
the  maintenance  of  soil  fertility,  so  a  system  was  developed 
which  gave  a  smaller  acreage  to  cotton  and  paid  particular 
attention  to  corn,  legumes,  feed  crops,  and  hogs.  Besides  the 


COTTON 

PERCENTAGES  OF  TOTAL  CROP  LAND  IN  CERTAIN  CROPS 

AVERAGES  OF  THE  MORE  PROFITABLE  1  TO  6  MULE  FARMS 
SUMTER  AND  BROOKS  COUNTIES.  GEORGIA 
PRE-WAR  PERIOD 


IstcROPS 

COTTON 

CORN 

OATS  &  RYE 
PEANUTS 
MISCELLANEOUS 
2NDCR0PS 
COW  PEAS 
INTERPLANTED 


BROOKS  COUNTY.  1914 

AVERAGES  FOR  30  OF  THE  MORE  PROFITABLE  FARMS 


29.6  ACRES  OF  CROP  LAND  TO  EACH  MULE 
2  COWS  TO  EVERY  5  MULES 
1  BROOD  SOW  TO  EACH  2  MULES 
34  CHICKENS  TO  EACH  FARM 


33  ACRES  OF  CROP  LAND  TO  EACH  MULE 
4  COWS  TO  EVERY  3  MULES 
2  BROOD  SOWS  TO  EACH  MULE 
80  CHICKENS  TO  EACH  FARM 


Fig.  33. — In  Sumter  County  there  is  much  greater  specialization  in  cotton  than 
in  Brooks  County.  In  the  latter  more  attention  is  being  given  to  the  growing 
of  crops  that  will  maintain  or  improve  soil  fertility,  consequently  more  live 
stock  are  kept  and  more  leguminous  crops  are  grown. 


regular  peanut  crop,  peanuts  were  planted  between  the  corn 
rows  on  about  one-third  of  the  corn  area.  The  Sumter 
County  farms  carried  2  cows  to  each  5  mules,  while  the 
Brooks  County  farms  carried  4  cows  to  each  3  mules.  The 
Sumter  County  farms  carried  1  brood  sow  to  each  2  mules, 
while  the  Brooks  County  farms  carried  2  brood  sows  to  each 
mule.  Among  the  important  miscellaneous  crops  on  these 
farms  were  watermelons,  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  sugar  cane, 
and  garden  vegetables. 

It  is  not  intimated  that  these  systems  of  cropping  were 
the  best  that  these  farmers  could  have  devised  for  their  farms 
or  for  the  communities  represented,  but  they  were  evidently 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


367 


better  than  the  average  in  that  they  yielded  comparatively 
high  returns  for  the  use  of  land,  working  capital,  and  labor. 

Systems  of  cropping  change  as  conditions  change.  Figure 
34  gives  the  organization  of  crop  enterprises  on  the  more 
profitable  1-mule  to  6-mule  farms  in  Sumter  County  five 
years  later,  in  1918.  The  main  difference  between  the  1918 
and  1913  systems  was  a  reduction  in  the  percentage  of  land 
devoted  to  cotton  in  1918  to  better  meet  boll- weevil  invasion 
and  the  high  cost  of  fertilizers.  The  actual  and  relative 
number  of  cows  and  brood  sows  was  increased.  The  30  more 
profitable  Sumter  County  farms  in  1913  spent  $1,057  for 
feed,  while  the  1918 
group  spent  only 
$298  for  this  pur¬ 
pose.  The  1918 
system  shows  a 
larger  planting  of 
legume  feed  crops 
to  reduce  the  cost 
of  maintaining  the 
live  stock,  to  utilize 
land  and  labor  not 
required  by  cotton, 
and  also  to  main¬ 
tain  fertility  better. 

Financing  the 
Cotton  Grower. 


COTTON 

PERCENTAGES  OF  TOTAL.  CROP  LAND  IN  CERTAIN  CROPS 

AVERAGES  OF  THE  MORE  PROFITABLE  Ito  6  MULE  FARMS 
SUMTER  COUNTY.  GEORGIA 

1918 


15T  CROPS 
COTTON 
CORN 

OATS,  RYE  ANO  WHEAT 
PEANUTS 
MISCELLANEOUS 
2ND  CROPS 

COWPEAS  ANO  PEANUTS 

INTERPLANTEO 

COWPEAS,  PEANUTS  AND 
VELVET  BEANS 


PER  CENT 

20  30 


40. 


AVERAGES 


31  ACRES  OF  CROP  LAND  TO  EACH  MULE 
1  COW  TO  EACH  2  MULES 
I  BROOD  SOW  TO  EACH  MULE 
31  CHICKENS  TO  EACH  FARM 


Fig.  34. — In  1918  cotton  and  corn  held  equal  areas 
in  Sumter  County.  Cowpeias,  peanuts,  and  vel- 
The  production  vet  beans  were  planted  extensively  after  the 
Of  cotton  in  the  other  crops  or  interplanted  with  them. 

United  States  rests  upon  credit  to  a  rather  unusual  extent 
compared  with  most  other  agricultural  products.  The  chief 
agencies  from  which  this  credit  is  obtained  by  the  cotton 
farmer  are  the  bank,  the  merchant,  and  in  the  case  of  tenants 
the  landowner.  In  this  credit  extension  the  merchant,  of 
course,  is  essentially  an  intermediary  between  the  banker 
and  the  farmer,  while  in  the  case  of  the  tenant  the  land- 
owner,  by  guaranteeing  the  repayment  of  the  credit  ad¬ 
vanced,  also  acts  as  an  intermediary,  either  between  the  bank 
and  the  tenant  or  the  merchant  and  the  tenant,, 


368  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  19%1. 

Merchant  credit  as  a  rule  is  a  particularly  expensive  arid 
unsatisfactory  form  of  credit,  whether  extended  by  the  store¬ 
keeper,  the  implement  dealer,  or  the  cotton  factor.  The 
difference  between  cash  prices  and  time  prices  usually  far 
exceeds  the  cost  of  bank  credit  needed  for  the  purchase  of 
corresponding  amounts  of  goods.  The  substitution  of  direct 
bank  credit  for  merchant  credit  is  therefore  to  be  recom¬ 
mended  wherever  possible.  The  consolidation  of  numerous 
small  loans  into  fewer  and  larger  ones  by  means  of  credit 
associations  would  result  in  further  economy.  It  is  also 
to  be  hoped  that  the  cotton  farmer  will,  to  an  increasing 
extent,  acquire  and  maintain  his  own  operating  capital  and 
thus  reduce  the  need  for  production  credit  and  strengthen 
the  security  for  such  credit  as  is  needed.  Only  in  this  way 
can  be  brought  about  a  credit  situation  in  which  an  ample 
supply  of  capital  will  be  available  on  terms  favorable  to  the 
borrower. 

According  to  a  study  made  by  the  Department  of  Agricul¬ 
ture  in  the  spring  of  1921,  the-  average  prevailing  rate  of 
interest  on  personal  and  collateral  loans  to  farmers  for  each 
of  the  10  leading  cotton-producing  States  was  as  follows : 


Per  cen]t 

North  Carolina _ _ _ —  6.  23 

Tennessee _ 7.  88 

South  Carolina _ ■ - - —  8.  06 

Mississippi _ _ _ _ 8.11 

Louisiana _ 8.  34 

Alabama _ 8.  46 

Georgia _ ^ - 8.  94 

Texas _ _ _ 9.68 

Oklahoma _ 9.  84 

Arkansas - 9.  70 


In  all  of  these  States  the  actual  average  interest  cost,  how¬ 
ever,  was  considerably  higher  than  shown  by  the  above 
figures,  because  of  the  prevalent  practice  among  the  banks 
in  these  States  of  collecting  interest  in  advance,  and  of  a 
common  but  less  frequent  practice  of  requiring  borrowers  to 
maintain  a  minimum  deposit  at  the  bank  while  the  loan  is 
outstanding. 

Because  of  the  relatively  high  percentage  of  tenancy  in 
the  cotton-producing  States,  the  question  of  security  for  loans 
is  especially  significant.  The  following  table  shows  the  pre¬ 
vailing  forms  of  security  for  personal  and  collateral  loans 
to  farmers  in  the  so-called  Cotton  States. 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


369 


Form  of  security  given  for  personal  and  collateral  bank,  loans  to 
farmers  in  10  leading  Cotton  States;  per  cent  of  loans  secured  by 
various  forms  of  security. 


State. 

Note 

without 

indorse¬ 

ment. 

Note 
with  one 
or  more 
indorse¬ 
ments  . 

Mort¬ 
gage  on 
live 
stock. 

Crop  lien. 

Ware¬ 

house 

receipt. 

Stocks 

and 

bonds. 

Other 

ways. 

North  Carolina.. .. 

10.5 

68.6 

1.7 

5.2 

2.1 

7.5 

4.4 

South  Carolina .... 

9.1 

41.0 

13.6 

20.2 

9.7 

4.8 

1.6 

Georgia . 

12.5 

50.1 

14.5 

4.9 

10.0 

3.5 

4.5 

Tennessee . 

18.1 

67.2 

5.0 

1.5 

.8 

5.8 

1.6 

Alabama . 

10.4 

20.1 

31.5 

26.1 

7.5 

2.4 

2.0 

Mississippi . 

12.7 

27.0 

20.2 

15.1 

8.0 

9.1 

7.9 

Arkansas . 

12.1 

37.9 

22.7 

19.9 

3.0 

2.2 

2.2 

Louisiana . 

15.5 

52.7 

12.4 

5.2 

2.7 

9.0 

2.5 

Oklahoma . 

17.2 

12.9 

49.3 

18.1 

.7 

1.2 

.6 

Texas . 

21.9 

18.0 

38.1 

18.3 

1.6 

1. 1 

•  0 

Personal  notes  with  one  or  more  indorsements  are  the 
prevailing  form  of  security  in  a  large  majority  of  these 
States.  Mortgages  on  live  stock  and  crop  liens  come  next 
in  importance.  Warehouse  receipts  are  as  yet  seldom  used 
by  the  farmer,  but  will  no  doubt  increase  in  popularity  as 
adequate  warehouse  systems  are  established. 

One  of  the  most  common  complaints  heard  with  reference 
to  bank  loans  to  farmers  from  these  States,  as  well  as  from 
those  in  other  sections  of  the  country,  is  that  the  term  is 
frequently  too  short  to  meet  the  farmer’s  credit  needs.  The 
prevailing  term  of  such  loans  may  be  seen  from  the  follow¬ 
ing  table,  based  on  the  study  to  which  reference  has  already 
been  made : 


Average  term  of  personal  and  collateral  loans  to  farmers:  Per  cent 
of  banks  reporting  various  average  terms,  March,  1921. 


State. 

One  to 
thirty 
days. 

One  to 
three 
months. 

Three  to 
six 

months. 

Six  to 
nine 
months. 

Nine  to 
twelve 
months. 

More 
than  one 
year. 

North  Carolina . 

28.0 

53.7 

15.9 

2.4 

South  Carolina  . . 

12.  5 

40. 1 

40.  8 

6.6 

Georgia . 

3.9 

50.3 

38.5 

7.3 

Tennessee . 

28.5 

45.0 

14.6 

11.9 

Alabama . 

4.2 

30.5 

39.9 

25.4 

Mississippi . 

9.  2_ 

31.2 

38.  5 

19.3 

1. 8 

Arkansas . 

7.2 

36.  7 

45.  9 

10.  2 

Louisiana . 

9.3 

37.2 

37.  2 

16.3 

Oklahoma . 

0.4 

11.  6 

49.  6 

31.  9 

6.  5 

Texas . 

7.9 

52.1 

33.0 

6.7 

.3 

5689°— 22 - 4 


370  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

Cotton  Handling  and  Marketing. 

The  days  of  the  American  homespun  are  past,  and  now 
the  entire  American  cotton  crop  is  produced  for  the  market. 
The  course  of  the  cotton  from  the  producer  to  the  mills  de¬ 
pends  on  the  point  of  origin,  the  location  of  the  mills  for 
which  it  is  destined,  the  means  of  transportation,  and  the 
methods  of  trading.  The  price  that  the  producer  receives 
depends  not  only  upon  the  supply  and  demand  at  the  con¬ 
suming  points,  but  also  upon  the  cost  or  handling  from  the 
producer  to  the  mills,  the  middlemen’s  profits,  and  the  ability 
of  the  producer  to  take  advantage  of  the  most  economical 
methods  of  marketing  his  crop. 

The  process  of  separating  the  lint  from  the  seed  is  known 
as  ginning.  This  the  producer  usually  has  done  before  he 
sells,  which  enables  him  to  dispose  of  both  the  seed  and  the 
fiber  to  the  best  advantage.  The  producer  may  sell  his  cot¬ 
ton  at  once  or  hold  it  until  some  future  date.  He  may  sell 
directly  to  a  mill  buyer  or  to  some  one  of  the  numerous 
grades  of  dealers  in  cotton. 

Southern  cotton  mills  consume  about  one-fourth  of  the 
American  crop,  the  bulk  of  which  is  produced  locally  in  the 
South  Atlantic  States.  The  rest  of  the  crop  must  be  trans¬ 
ported  by  rail  or  water  either  to  northern  mills  or  abroad. 
The  movement  of  the  great  American  cotton  crop  therefore 
necessitates  an  extensive  system  of  transportation  as  well 
as  of  markets. 

Short  Staple  and  Long  Staple  Cottons. 

The  length  and  the  character  of  the  fiber  or  staple  are 
the  most  important  of  the  factors  that  determine  the  value 
of  cotton.  Cottons  differing  in  length  and  character  of 
fiber  require  special  methods  in  handling  and  marketing. 
Commercially  all  cotton  is  divided  into  two  classes — short 
staple,  that  of  inches  and  under  in  length,  and  long  sta¬ 
ple,  cotton  1J  inches  and  over  in  length  of  fibers.  Cottons, 
however,  having  a  staple  length  of  1TV  inches  usually  com¬ 
mand  a  premium  over  short-staple  cottons  of  J  to  1  inch  in 
length  of  staple.  The  length  and  strength  of  fiber  produced 
in  any  locality  depend  on  the  variety  planted,  the  soil, 
climatic  conditions,  and  cultural  methods. 

Short  staple. — Short-staple  cotton  is  grown  in  all  parts 
of  the  Cotton  Belt  and  constitutes  the  bulk  of  the  American 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


371 


crop,  or  an  average  of  92  per  cent.  The  length  of  the  fiber 
of  this  cotton  varies  from  three-fourths  to  1 inches.  In 
parts  of  the  Piedmont  region  and  on  the  better  types  of  soils 
the  length  is  often  more  than  an  inch,  while  on  the  sandy 
and  other  poorer  soils  it  may  be  less  than  seven-eighths  of 
an  inch.  On  the  rich  river  bottoms  and  on  the  black  prairie 
lands  of  Texas  and  Oklahoma  the  cotton  grown  is  usually 
1TV  inches  in  length  and  has  a  characteristic  strong,  hard 
staple. 

Long  staple. — Upland  varieties  with  fiber  to  1J  inches 
long  are  grown  in  many  parts  of  the  South,  the  production 
of  some  sections  being  recognized  by  characteristic  differ¬ 
ences  in  quality  and  strength  of  staple.  The  bulk  of  the 
long-staple  upland  cotton  is  produced  in  the  Yazoo-Missis- 
sippi  Delta,  the  north  central  section  of  South  Carolina, 
and  the  bottom  lands  of  Texas  and  Arkansas.  (See  table 
following:) 


Comparison  of  production  of  long-staple  cotton  ( 1 £  inches  and  above 
in  length)  with  production  of  short-staple  cotton  ( under  1 £  inches 
in  length)  in  the  United  States;  estimates  1919  and  1920. 


State. 

Bales,  thousands,  i 

.  e.  000  omitted. 

Per  cent. 

Under  If 
inches. 

1J  to  1* 
inches, 
inclusive. 

Over  1£ 
inches.1 

Under  1| 
inches. 

lit  to  li 
inches, 
inclusive. 

Over  1£ 
inches.1 

1919 

1920 

1919 

1920 

1919 

1920 

1919 

1920 

1919 

1920 

1919 

1920 

Alabama . 

711 

662 

2 

1 

99.7 

99.9 

0.3 

0.1 

Arkansas . 

718 

947 

136 

225 

30 

37 

81.2 

78.3 

15.4 

18.6 

3.4 

3.1 

Arizona .  . . 

21 

21 

39 

82 

35.0 

20.6 

65.0 

79.4 

California . 

45 

64 

10 

3 

1 

8 

80.3 

85.3 

17.9 

4.0 

1.8 

10.7 

Florida . 

14 

15 

2 

2 

l 

87.5 

82.8 

11. 1 

12.5 

6. 1 

Georgia . 

1,639 

1,384 

18 

27 

3 

4 

98.7 

97.8 

1.1 

1.9 

.2 

.3 

Louisiana . 

290 

375 

7 

10 

1 

2 

97.3 

96.9 

2.4 

2.6 

.3 

.5 

Mississippi . 

619 

612 

300 

252 

42 

29 

64.4 

68.5 

31.2 

28.2 

4.4 

3.2 

Missouri . 

60 

71 

4 

5 

1 

94.4 

92.3 

5.6 

6.4 

1.3 

North  Carolina. . 

817 

900 

12 

10 

1 

2 

98.5 

98.7 

1.4 

1.1 

.1 

.2 

Oklahoma . 

937 

1,125 

77 

192 

2 

4 

92.2 

85.2 

7.6 

14.5 

.2 

.3 

South  Carolina. . 

1,309 

1,437 

93 

144 

24 

29 

91.8 

89.3 

6.5 

8.9 

1.7 

1.8 

Tennessee . 

293 

312 

15 

11 

2 

1 

94.5 

96.2 

4.9 

3.5 

.6 

.3 

Texas . 

2,916 

4,091 

177 

230 

6 

5 

94.1 

94.6 

5.7 

5.3 

.2 

.1 

All  others . 

28 

27 

100.4) 

100.0 

United  States. 

10, 417 

12,049 

851 

1,112 

153 

205 

91.2 

90.2 

7.5 

8.3 

1.3 

1.5 

1  Including  91,965  running  bales  of  American-Egyptian  and  1,725  bales  of  Sea  Island  cotton 
for  1920,  reduced  to  500-pound  bales. 


372  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

Sea  island. — Sea  island  is  a  distinct  type  of  cotton,  noted 
for  its  length  of  staple,  1J  to  2£  inches,  and  its  strong,  very 
fine,  and  silky  fibers.  The  sea-island  cotton  produced  on  the 
islands  off  the  coast  of  South  Carolina  has  the  longest  and 
finest  staple  of  any  cotton.  That  grown  on  the  coastal  plain 
of  Georgia  and  north  Florida  is  somewhat  shorter  and 
coarser.  At  present  the  boll  weevil  has  practically  stopped 
the  growing  of  sea-island  cotton  in  the  United  States,  the 
crop  of  1920  amounting  to  less  than  2,000  bales  of  500  pounds 
each.  Recently,  however,  a  new  upland  variety  called  Meade 
has  been  developed  in  this  section  and  is  replacing  the  sea- 
island  cotton.  Meade  cotton  has  a  very  fine  strong  staple 
If  to  If  inches  in  length,  comparable  with  sea  island. 

American  Egyptian. — The  American-Egyptian  cotton  crop 
is  produced  chiefly  in  the  valleys  of  the  Salt,  Gila,  and  Colo¬ 
rado  Rivers  of  Arizona,  and  in  the  Palo  Verde,  Imperial, 
and  San  Joaquin  Valleys  of  California.  Practically  the  en¬ 
tire  crop  is  of  a  single  variety,  known  as  Pima,  which  pro¬ 
duces  a  staple  of  from  1J  to  If  inches  in  length. 

Ginning. 

Two  types  of  machines  are  now  in  use  for  separating  cotton 
fibers  from  the  seed  on  which  they  grow.  They  are  known  as 
roller  and  saw  gins.  The  roller  gin  is  the  older  type.  In 
the  roller  gin  the  fibers  are  caught  between  a  leather-covered 
roll  and  a  fixed  steel  bar  or  blade,  while  a  movable  bar  knocks 
the  seed  loose.  The  roller  gin  is  especially  adapted  for  use  in 
ginning  varieties  having  slick  or  smooth  seed  and  long  fibers 
that  are  easily  detached  from  the  seed  coat,  such  as  sea 
island,  American  Egyptian,  and  Meade.  The  output  of  the 
roller  gin  is  smaller  per  day  than  that  of  the  other  type, 
known  as  the  saw  gin.  In  the  saw  gin  the  fibers  are  caught 
in  the  teeth  of  circular  saws  and  pulled  through  a  slot 
between  metal  ribs.  The  slot  is  adjusted  so  as  to  permit 
the  passage  of  the  fibers  but  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the 
seed,  so  that  the  cotton  is  stripped  from  the  seed,  which  fall 
back  and  out  of  the  way.  The  saw  gin  is  especially  adapted 
for  the  ginning  of  short  staples  with  fuzzy  seed  and  fibers 
that  are  tightly  attached  to  the  seed  coat. 

While  the  ginning  of  cotton  is  done  primarily  in  order  to 
bale  the  farmer’s  product  so  that  it  may  be  sold,  it  is  the  first 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


373 


step  in  the  preparation  of  the  fiber  for  spinning,  and  there¬ 
fore  the  condition  in  which  the  lint  comes  from  the  gin  has 
a  most  important  bearing  on  its  future  value  and  is  the 
primary  basis  for  grades  on  which  purchases  are  made. 
Some  of  the  factors  influencing  the  grade  of  cotton  as  it 
comes  from  the  gin  are  the  care  with  which  it  has  been  har¬ 
vested  and  prepared  for  ginning,  i.  e.,  whether  ripe,  clean, 
and  dry ;  second,  the  condition  of  the  ginning  mechanism  and 
the  skill  of  operation,  i.  e.,  clean  machinery  in  prime  condi¬ 
tion,  operated  both  as  to  the  feeding  and  speed  with  care, 
taking  into  consideration  the  type  of  the  cotton  being  ginned 
and  its  physical  condition. 


Fig.  35. — Cotton  gin  in  Texas.  Each  wagon  holds  enough  seed  cotton  to 
make  a  bale  of  lint  weighing  about  500  pounds. 

Baling. — As  the  lint  or  fiber  (or  raw  cotton)  comes  from 
the  gin  it  is  put  up  in  packages  of  different  sizes  and  shapes. 
The  bulk  of  the  American  crop,  however,  is  packed  into  a 
press  box  54  inches  long  and  27  inches  wide  and  to  a  depth 
of  about  45  inches.  This  makes  the  standard  “  flat  ”  or 
“  square  ”  bale,  which  weighs  about  500  pounds.  It  is  cov¬ 
ered  on  two  sides  and  on  the  ends  with  bagging  and  is  tied 
with  six  iron  bands.  In  the  western  part  of  the  Cotton  Belt 
there  are  some  gins  which  make  bales  cylindrical  in  shape 
but  known  as  “  round  ”  bales.  These  are  approximately  35 
inches  long  and  22  inches  in  diameter,  are  completely  covered 
with  bagging,  and  weigh  about  250  pounds.  The  sea- 


374  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

island  cotton  produced  in  South  Carolina  is  put  up  in 
bags  7 i  feet  long  and  feet  in  diameter  and  weigh  ap¬ 
proximately  350  pounds. 

Compressing. — With  the  exception  of  the  round  bale  and 
the  recently  devised  gin-compressed  bale,  which  is  a  small 
square  bale  and,  like  the  round  bale,  built  up  under  pressure 
automatically  as  the  ginning  is  done,  the  American  cotton 
bale  is  of  comparatively  low  density  and  is  not  only  un¬ 
wieldy  but  does  not  fit  into  either  freight  cars  or  ship  holds 
economically.  In  order  that  the  maximum  number  of  pounds 
of  cotton  may  be  packed  for  shipment,  square  bales  are  sub¬ 
jected  to  a  recompression  by  which  the  cotton  is  compacted 
to  a  high  density  and  the  bale  reduced  to  approximately  one- 
half  its  original  size.  At  the  same  time  patches  are  added 
to  cover  all  sample  holes  and  to  make  up  the  usual  tare  allow¬ 
ance.  Plants  for  recompressing  the  bales  are  usually  lo¬ 
cated  at  interior  markets  and  railroad  concentration  points 
and  are  known  as  66  compresses.” 

The  standard  500-pound  square  bale  as  it  comes  from  the 
gin  has  a  density  of  only  12  to  15  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  and 
from  30  to  35  of  them  fill  a  36-foot  box  car.  When  they  are 
compressed  at  the  ordinary  or  standard  compresses  to  a 
density  of  22  to  24  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  from  65  to  75 
bales  may  be  loaded  into  a  car.  The  u  round  ”  gin-com¬ 
pressed  bale,  weighing  about  250  pounds,  has  a  density  of  32 
to  37  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  and  approximately  200  of  them 
may  be  packed  in  a  car,  equivalent  to  100  standard  bales. 
The  square  gin-compressed  bale  has  a  density  of  about  35 
pounds  to  the  cubic  foot. 

At  some  of  the  concentration  points  and  ports,  such  as 
Houston,  Galveston,  New  Orleans,  Mobile,  Augusta,  and 
Savannah,  there  are  “  high-density  ”  compresses,  which  give 
the  bale  a  density  of  35  pounds  or  more  per  cubic  foot,  which 
results  in  a  still  greater  saving  of  car  and  cargo  space. 

Custom  ginning. — In  the  early  days  of  the  cotton  industry 
the  larger  plantations  owned  and  operated  gins,  but  with  the 
extension  of  the  industry  and  the  growth  of  the  number  of 
small  farms  came  the  establishment  of  public  gins.  The 
efficiency  of  the  public  gins  has  led  to  the  abandonment  of 
practically  all  of  the  old  plantation  gins.  Even  where  plan¬ 
tation  gins  still  operate  they  also,  as  a  rule,  do  custom 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


375 


ginning.  Public  ginneries  are  now  established  in  practically 
every  locality  where  the  production  of  cotton  is  sufficient  to 
support  one.  During  the  season  of  1920-21  there  were  in 
actual  operation  18,440  ginneries,  which  ginned  on  an  average 
of  720  bales  each. 

The  modern  public  gin  is  equipped  with  pneumatic  ele¬ 
vators  and  distributors,  by  which  the  seed  cotton  brought  in 
by  the  growers  is  sucked  up  from  the  wagons  through  pipes 
and,  after  passing  through  cleaning  apparatus,  is  distributed 
to  the  different  ginning  machines  or  gin  stands,  as  they  are 
called.  (See  Fig.  35.)  The  lint,  after  it  is  taken  from  the 
seed  by  the  saws,  is  again  caught  in  a  blast  of  air  and  con¬ 
veyed  through  flues  to  the  condenser  and  baling  press.  The 
seed  fall  into  a  trough,  through  which  they  are  carried  either 
by  a  screw  conveyor  or  by  an  air  blast  to  a  seed  chute  or  to 
bins  in  a  seed  house.  If  the  grower  desires  the  return  of  his 
seed  he  drives  his  wagon  under  the  seed  chute  and  receives 
them  as  they  come  from  the  gin.  If,  however,  he  sells  the 
seed  to  the  ginner  or  to  some  other  agent  of  the  cotton-oil 
mills,  they  are  delivered  to  the  bins  in  the  seed  house  and 
from  there  transferred  in  car  lots  to  the  oil  mills.  Public 
ginners  usually  make  a  charge  for  ginning  by  the  hundred 
pounds  of  seed  cotton,  and  an  extra  charge  for  the  bagging 
and  ties  applied  to  the  bales.  These  charges  or  tolls  vary 
in  the  different  sections  according  to  the  costs  involved.  They 
are  regulated  also  to  some  extent  by  agreement  and  by  local 
laws. 

Selling  cotton  in  the  seed. — In  a  few  sections  of  the  Cotton 
Belt  some  farmers  sell  their  cotton  before  it  is  ginned,  or 
“  in  the  seed,”  as  it  is  known.  The  practice  of  selling  cotton 
in  the  seed  is  most  prevalent  in  those  sections  where  the 
cotton-growing  industry  has  only  recently  developed  or 
where  cotton  is  not  very  extensively  grown.  The  ginners  buy 
the  cotton  seed  as  it  is  brought  in  and  gin  it  whenever  enough 
has  accumulated  for  a  run.  In  settling  with  the  producer 
the  average  outturn  or  lint  percentage  of  the  community  is 
usually  taken  as  a  basis.  The  ratio  of  seed  to  lint  is  ap¬ 
proximately  2  to  1,  though  some  of  the  improved  varieties 
turn  out  from  35  to  40  per  cent  of  lint.  The  application  of 
averages  therefore  often  results  in  not  giving  the  individual 
farmer  the  price  he  deserves.  From  every  angle  the  practice 


376  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

of  selling  cotton  in  the  seed  is  most  unfortunate,  since  the 
producer  has  no  incentive  for  growing  better  varieties  or  for 
making  any  effort  to  improve  his  grade  and  is  prevented  from 
maintaining  the  purity  of  his  seed  supply. 

Handling  Cotton  Seed. 

As  indicated  above,  about  two-thirds  of  the  weight  of  the 
cotton,  as  it  is  picked  and  hauled  to  the  gin,  is  seed.  With  the 
exception  of  such  seed  as  is  required  for  planting,  practically 
all  cotton  seed  now  reaches  the  oil  mills,  where  it  is  crushed 
and  the  oil  extracted.  The  seed  is  now  a  valuable  part  of  the 
cotton  crop  and  is  becoming  still  more  valuable  as  the  demand 
for  its  products  increases. 

Oil  mills. — Cotton  seed  being  bulky,  the  cost  of  transporta¬ 
tion  makes  long-distance  shipments  unprofitable;  conse¬ 
quently  oil  mills  have  been  located  in  the  producing  region, 
generally  at  points  at  which  the  seed  can  be  collected  con¬ 
veniently  from  the  ginneries.  In  1920  there  were  675  seed¬ 
crushing  oil  mills  well  distributed  throughout  the  Cotton 
Belt.  The  four  primary  products  from  crushing  cotton  seed 
are  linters,  hulls,  cake,  and  oil.  The  process  of  crushing, 
briefly  described,  is  as  follows : 

The  seed  first  are  cleaned  of  dirt  and  trash,  then  passed 
through  a  delinting  machine,  which  removes  the  short  lint 
or  fuzz,  making  what  are  known  as  “  linters  ” ;  it  is  then 
passed  through  machines  which  crush  or  cut  the  seed  in  fine 
pieces  and  separate  the  hulls  from  the  kernels;  and  finally 
the  oil  is  expressed  from  the  kernels  in  hydraulic  presses, 
leaving  a  residue  which  is  called  “  cake  ”  and  which  when 
ground  becomes  cottonseed  meal.  In  the  “  cold-press  ”  mills 
the  whole  seed  is  crushed  and  no  effort  is  made  to  separate 
hulls  from  kernels. 


Warehousing. 

The  warehousing  of  cotton  after  ginning  is  very  important 
economically.  Leaving  the  baled  cotton  exposed  to  the 
weather  results  in  large  losses  annually  from  the  rotting  of 
the  fiber.  Such  damage  is  commonly  known  as  “country 
damage.”  The  cotton  warehouse  is  a  place  of  shelter  and 
protection  from  fire  and  theft;  a  place  for  classing  and  as¬ 
sorting  to  meet  mill  requirements;  and  finally  it  is  a  place 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


377 


Fig.  36. — There  are  warehouses  at  many  local  markets,  as  well  as  at  the  larger  concentration  points  throughout  the  South, 
ton  is  customarily  marketed  as  soon  as  it  is  ginned  there  are  comparatively  few  warehouses,  except  at  concentration 


378  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

where  cotton  may  be  deposited  under  conditions  which  en¬ 
able  the  owner  to  obtain  money  advance  upon  it  until  such 
time  as  he  may  desire  to  sell.  Receipts  of  responsible  ware¬ 
houses  are  considered  among  the  best  kinds  of  security.  The 
Federal  warehouse  act  of  August,  1916,  facilitates  the  use 
of  warehouse  receipts  by  holders  of  cotton  in  financing  them¬ 
selves  while  holding  for  favorable  market  conditions. 

Warehouses. — Warehouses  for  storing  cotton  have  been 
built  at  many  local  markets,  as  well  as  at  the  larger  con¬ 
centration  points  throughout  the  South.  (See  Fig.  36.)  In 
Arkansas,  Oklahoma,  and  Texas,  where  much  of  the  cotton  is 
customarily  marketed  as  soon  as  it  is  ginned,  and  is  shipped 


Fro.  37. — A  modern  concentration  and  export  warehouse  of  semislow-burning 
construction.  The  wide  courts  are  for  receiving  from  cars  and  for  delivery 
to  the  compress  in  the  background.  The  hose  houses  are  located  between 
the  buildings. 

directly  to  the  mills  or  exported,  there  are  comparatively  few 
warehouses,  except  at  concentration  points  where  the  cotton 
is  held  by  merchants.  The  same  statement  applies  generally 
to  Tennessee,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana.  In  the  Eastern 
States  warehouses  are  usually  accessible  to  the  farmers. 

Grading  Cotton. 

The  value  of  cotton  to  the  consuming  mills  is  measured 
not  only  by  the  length,  strength,  and  uniformity  of  the  staple 
but  also  by  its  color  and  by  the  amount  of  foreign  material 
that  it  contains.  While  in  the  wild  state  species  of  cotton 
are  found  with  fibers  of  a  variety  of  colors,  the  principal 
varieties  of  commerce,  with  the  exception  of  a  few,  such  as 
the  brown  Egyptians,  are  of  a  creamy  or  pure  white  color. 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


379 


Seasonal  conditions,  such  as  frosts  or  excessively  damp  or 
rainy  weather,  stain  and  discolor  cotton.  In  some  sections 
cotton  unduly  exposed  to  the  weather  after  maturing  re¬ 
ceives  a  bluish  cast  or  becomes  mildewed.  This  condition 
so  frequently  occurs  in  some  sections  as  to  lead  to  the  belief 
that  the  damage  is  connected  with  certain  types  of  soil. 
The  fibers  of  “blue  cotton”  are  usually  weakened.  Dirt, 
sand,  broken  leaves,  and  stems  become  lodged  in  cotton  fibers 
during  storms  and 
long  exposure  in  the 
field,  and  when  picked 
and  ginned  with  the 
cotton  reduce  its  value 
in  proportion  to  the 
quantity  of  such  for¬ 
eign  matter  present. 

Standards  for  grad¬ 
ing. — There  has  always 
been  considerable  con¬ 
fusion  in  the  market¬ 
ing  of  cotton,  due  to 
the  fact  that  nearly 
every  market  had  its 
own  grades,  and  these 
were  frequently 
changed  to  meet  spe¬ 
cial  crop  conditions. 

In  order  to  simplify 
cotton  marketing  by 
making  a  single  set  of 
standard  grades,  on 
which  quotations  and 
purchases  and  sales  could  be  based,  the  United  States  Depart¬ 
ment  of  Agriculture  was  authorized  in  the  appropriation  bill 
for  the  fiscal  year  1909  to  prepare  grade  standards.  Subse¬ 
quent  legislation  enlarged  these  powers  and  authorized  the 
sale  of  copies  of  the  Official  Cotton  Standards  to  all  who  de¬ 
sired  them.  The  United  States  Official  Cotton  Standards  for 
grade  have  now  been  adopted  by  the  exchanges  of  practi¬ 
cally  all  the  leading  cotton  markets  of  this  country.  Ap¬ 
proximately  2,500  full  and  fractional  copies  of  the  standards 
have  been  sold  to  the  American  cotton  trade.  Copies  have 


Fig.  38.— Grading  by  standards.  A  full  set 
of  white  standards  consists  of  9  boxes, 
each  containing  12  samples  of  the  same 
grade  of  cotton.  The  12  samples  indi¬ 
cate  the  range  of  diversity  allowed  within 
the  grade. 


380  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  19*21 


Fig.  39. — A  photographic  representation  of  the  official  cotton  standards  of 
the  United  States  of  those  lengths  of  staple  for  which  types  are  available 
for  distribution,  each  respective  length  as  shown  being  obtained  from  the 
original  type  bale. 


The  Cotton  Situation.  381 

also  been  sold  into  practically  all  the  foreign  markets.  (See 
Fig.  38.) 

Bolly  ootton. — In  the-  western  and  northwestern  sections 
of  the  Cotton  Belt  large  quantities  of  bolls,  more  or  less 
matured,  are  frequently  caught  by  early  frosts  which  kill 
the  plants  and  arrest  the  further  development  of  the  fibers. 
Such  of  these  bolls  as  are  not  too  severely  damaged  crack 
open  and  produce  a  cotton  of  poor  character,  fluffy  and  soft, 
and  filled  with  shale,  or  the  finely  divided  smooth  inner 
surface  of  the  carpel,  which  adheres  closely  to  the  fibers  and 
causes  waste  during  spinning.  So  much  of  such  cotton  has 
been  caught  by  frosts  in  recent  years  that  steps  have  been 
taken  to  salvage  as  much  as  possible.  These  frost-opened 
bolls  are  gathered  and  put  through  machinery  which  first 
picks  the  cotton  from  the  bolls  and  then  gins  the  cotton. 
The  lint  thus  obtained  is  known  as  “bolly  cotton”  and 
brings  only  a  fractional  part  of  the  price  of  well-matured 
white  cotton. 

Snaps. — Recently  still  another  type  of  cotton  has  appeared 
in  the  West.  It  is  known  as  “  snaps,”  and  its  name  is  sig: 
nificant  of  its  character.  Owing  to  labor  shortages,  fields  of 
mature  cotton  are  sometimes  left  unpicked  until  late  fall  or 
winter.  It  is  then  much  easier,  especially  if  the  weather  be 
cold,  to  snap  the  bolls  off  of  the  plants  than  to  pick  the  cotton. 
The  “  picking  ”  is  done  later  by  machinery,  and  the  cotton  is 
then  ginned  and  baled  in  the  usual  manner.  While  this 
cotton  is  fully  matured,  it  is  likely  to  be  discolored  and 
trashy.  Snaps  or  snapped  cotton  also  brings  a  lower  price 
than  regular  cotton,  but  its  spinning  value  is  above  that  of 
bolly  cotton. 

Linters. 

All  cultivated  varieties  of  cotton,  with  the  exception  of 
Sea  Islands  and  some  Egyptians,  produce  two  types  of  fibers 
on  their  seed  coats — a  long  fiber  suitable  for  spinning  and  a 
short,  somewhat  weaker,  fiber  usually  called  fuzz.  The  long 
fibers  are  removed  and  baled  at  the  gins  and  constitute  the 
cotton  of  commerce,  while  the  short  fibers,  or  fuzz,  are  re¬ 
moved  in  a  second  and  more  intense  ginning  known  as 
“  delinting  ”  or  “  cutting  ”  and  constitute  what  are  known  as 
linters.  Delinting  is  generally  done  at  cotton-oil  mills  as  a 
step  in  the  preparation  of  the  seed  for  crushing.  Linters  also 
contain  varying  amounts  of  the  long  fibers  that  have  escaped 


382  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 


through  the  gins  without  being  removed.  Linters  are  packed 
in  bales  similar  to  the  ordinary  cotton  bale  and  weigh  on  an 
average  about  500  pounds  to  the  bale.  The  production  of 
linters  has  increased  from  114,000  bales  in  1899-1900  to 
440,000  bales  in  1920-21.  In  1916-17,  during  the  World  War, 
1,331,000  bales  of  linters  were  cut,  to  be  used  chiefly  in  the 
production  of  explosives.  The  annual  production  of  linters 
during  the  last  20  years,  together  with  the  ratio  of  linter  pro¬ 
duction  to  cotton  production,  is  shown  in  the  accompanying 
table : 

Annual  production  of  linters. 


Year. 

Bales  of 
linters. 

Per  cent 
of  cotton 
crop. 

Year. 

Bales  of 
linters. 

Per  cent 
of  cotton 
crop. 

1899-1900... . 

114,000 
143,000 
166,000 
196, 000 

1.2 

1910-11 . 

398,000 

556,000 

602,000 

629,000 

3.2 

1900-1901  . 

1.4 

1911-12 . 

3.4 

1901-2 . 

1.5 

1912-13 . 

4.2 

1902-3 . 

1.8 

1913-14 . 

4.2 

5.3 

1903-4 . 

195,000 
245, 000 
230, 000 
322, 000 
268, 000 
346,000 
313, 000 

1.9 

1914-15 . 

856,000 

931,000 

1,331,000 

1,126,000 

929,000 

608,000 

1904-5 . 

1.7 

1915-16 . 

8.3 

1905-6 . 

2.0 

1916-17 . 

10.9 

1906-7 . 

2.3 

1917-18 . 

10.0 

1907-8 . 

2.3 

1918-19 . 

7.7 

1908-9 

2.5 

1919-20  .. 

5.4 

1909-10 . 

2.9 

1920-21 . 

440,000 

3.3 

Uses  of  linters. — During  war  time  linters  are  used  chiefly 
in  the  manufacture  of  explosives,  but  during  peace  time  the 
felting  quality  of  linters  and  the  chemical  composition  of 
the  fibers  are  utilized  in  the  manufacture  of  a  variety  of 
articles,  as  shown  in  the  following  list : 


Batting. 

Wadding. 

Stuffing  material  for  : 

Pads. 

Cushions. 

Comforts. 

Horse  collars. 

Mattresses. 

Upholstery. 

Absorbent  cotton. 

Mixing  with  shoddy. 

Mixing  with  wool  in  hat  making. 
Mixing  with  lamb’s  wool  for  fleece- 
lined  underwear. 

Felt. 

Low  grade  yarns  : 

Lamp  and  candle  wicks. 

Twine. 

Rope. 


Low  grade  yarns — Continued. 

Carpets. 

Cellulose  : 

Writing  paper. 

Guncotton,  nitro-cellulose. 
Pyrocellulose. 

Smokeless  powder. 

Pyroxylin. 

Varnishes — 

Coating  for  metals. 
Artificial  leather. 
Weatherproofing. 
Plastics — 

Celluloid. 

Collodion. 

Varnishes. 

Artificial  silks. 
Photographic  films. 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


383 


Cotton  Markets. 

A  cotton  market  may  be  defined  as  a  place  where  a  number 
of  men  meet  to  buy  and  sell  cotton.  The  system  begins  with 
the  village  or  town  where  dealer  meets  producer  and  ends 
with  the  point  where  dealer  delivers  to  spinner.  The  trad¬ 
ing  may  be  in  actual  cotton  or  in  contracts  for  future  de¬ 
livery.  The  term  “  spot  cotton  ”  is  used  to  designate  actual 
cotton  on  the  market,  and  a  “  spot  market  ”  is  one  dealing 


Fig.  40. — A  large  proportion  of  the  cotton  crop  is  annually  marketed  Sep¬ 
tember  to  January,  inclusive.  This  heavy  marketing  ordinarily  depresses 
the  farm  price,  which  rises  slowly  as  the  marketing  diminishes.  Last  year 
(1920-21)  deflation,  business  depression,  and  a  large  carry-over  of  stocks 
caused  the  farm  price  to  fall  almost  continuously  from  August  to  May  of 
the  following  year. 

in  spot  or  actual  cotton.  In  the  future  markets  the  trading 
is  done  in  contracts  to  deliver  at  some  future  date.  A  future 
contract  usually  calls  for  100  bales  or  approximately  50,000 
pounds  of  cotton  to  be  delivered  during  a  specified  future 
month. 

Spot  markets . — The  spot  markets  are  classified,  according 
to  their  location  and  their  functions  in  cotton  trading,  as 
primary  and  interior  markets. 

Primary  markets  are  villages  and  towns  where  baled  cotton 
is  first  put  on  the  market  and  sold  by  the  producer.  Cotton 
buyers  go  into  almost  every  village  and  town  where  a  ginnery 
is  to  be  found. 


384  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


385 


Interior  markets  are  large  towns  and  cities  where  cotton 
from  primary  markets  is  received  and  sold  by  primary  buy¬ 
ers  to  merchants  or  mill  agents.  Such  markets  are  usually 
the  points  of  concentration  for  grading,  compressing,  as¬ 
sembling  in  commercial  lots,  and  consigning  to  destination 
for  consumption. 

Export  markets. — The  cities  along  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf 
coasts  where  cotton  is  sold  and  from  which  it  is  exported  are 
called  export  markets.  About  one-half  of  the  American 
cotton  crop  is  exported  for  consumption  in  foreign  mills. 

Consuming  markets. — Cities  or  towns  in  which  cotton  is 
purchased  for  manufacturing  are  called  consuming  markets. 
Boston,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia  are  both  export  and 
important  consuming  markets. 

Future  markets. — There  are  future  cotton  markets  or  ex¬ 
changes  in  New  Orleans  and  New  York.  The  importance  of 
these  markets  is  not  indicated  by  their  receipts  or  exports  of 
cotton,  as  much  of  the  cotton  dealt  in  never  reaches  these 
points.  New  Orleans  is  both  a  spot  market  and  a  future 
market,  while  New  York  is  primarily  a  future  market. 
Liverpool  is  the  most  important  foreign  future  market  deal¬ 
ing  in  American  cotton.  There  are  future  exchanges  also  at 
Bremen  and  Havre  which  deal  in  American  cotton.  The 
classification  of  all  cotton  delivered  on  the  New  York  and 
New  Orleans  future  exchanges  is  now  done  by  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Marketing  and  Prices. 

All  of  the  markets  are  closely  connected  through  the  opera¬ 
tions  of  dealers,  and  the  future  exchanges  stand  at  the  apex 
of  the  system,  the  prices  quoted  in  all  the  other  markets  gen¬ 
erally  being  based  on  the  future  quotations.  (See  Fig.  42.) 
When  the  harvest  season  begins,  contracts  covering  a  large 
part  of  the  cotton  crop  have  already  been  made  and  are  being 
dealt  in  daily  upon  the  future  exchanges.  While  dealing 
in  futures  may  be  used  for  speculation,  under  normal  condi¬ 
tions  its  chief  use  is  for  hedging,  a  means  of  insurance  against 
loss  and  also  for  the  stabilization  of  prices.  The  spinner 
who  has  made  a  contract  to  deliver  cotton  goods  sometime 
in  the  future  orders  cotton  from  a  responsible  dealer,  who 
“  hedges  ”  against  a  rise  in  the  price  of  cotton,  generally  by 
buying  a  contract  for  it  upon  a  future  exchange. 

5689° — 22 - 5 


386  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921 


1921,  the  futures  were  generally  above  the  cash. 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


387 


On  the  other  hand,  the  dealer  who  is  buying  or  expects  to 
buy  cotton  on  the  primary  or  other  markets  may  “  hedge  ” 
against  a  fall  in  prices  by  selling  a  contract  for  it  upon  a 
future  exchange  at  a  price  sufficient  to  insure  him  against  loss 
or  even  to  make  a  profit.  The  purchase  of  cotton  in  quan¬ 
tity  for  any  purpose  without  hedging  would  be  considered 
such  speculation  that  banks  would  not  finance  the  deal. 
Dealers  on  the  future  cotton  exchanges  keep  daily  watch  on 
the  demand  for  cotton  in  all  the  important  consuming  mar¬ 
kets  and  upon  the  conditions  as  to  production  and  movement 
of  cotton  for  the  purpose  of  forecasting  prices  as  far  ahead 
as  possible.  Their  forecasts  guide  them  in  their  activities 
in  buying  and  selling  contracts  for  future  delivery  and  the 
quotations  of  sales  as  they  are  made  followed  closely  by 
dealers  in  the  actual  cotton  on  all  spot  markets. 

Marketing  cotton. — Buyers  become  active  in  the  primary 
markets  as  soon  as  ginning  begins.  Some  cotton  is  grown 
under  mortgage  and  is  sold  promptly  in  order  to  meet  press¬ 
ing  financial  obligations.  Where  only  small  quantities  of 
cotton  are  grown,  it  is  usually  sold  to  the  ginner  or  local 
merchant  in  the  nearest  town  or  village.  Through  the  center 
of  the  Cotton  Belt  the  tenants  on  plantations,  usually  having 
pledged  their  crops  in  advance,  sell  at  once  to  the  owners 
of  the  plantations,  or,  subject  to  the  lien,  to  merchants  or 
buyers.  With  many  producers,  however,  the  time  of  selling 
is  largely  a  matter  of  choice. 

When  cotton  is  bought  in  greater  quantities  than  can  be 
moved  or  consumed  at  once,  the  purchaser  must  bear  the 
expense  of  storage  and  risk  of  loss,  and  he,  therefore,  pays 
the  producer  a  lower  price  for  it.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
producer  who  can  hold  his  crop  must  consider  the  expenses 
of  storage,  insurance,  and  interest  on  money  involved  in 
estimating  the  advantages  of  holding.  It  may  be  that  in 
some  cases  the  buyer  can  hold  at  less  expense  than  the  farmer 
and  can  afford  to  pay  such  a  price  that  the  farmer  would  lose 
by  holding.  Many  successful  farmers  have  adopted  the 
fixed  policy  of  selling  a  portion  of  their  crop  promptly  and 
holding  the  remainder  for  sale  as  conditions  and  circum¬ 
stances  seem  to  warrant.  The  cotton  sold  under  stress  and 
of  free  choice  soon  after  ginning  forms  a  large  percentage 
of  the  total  crop.  (See  Fig.  40.) 


388  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  1921. 

It  requires  some  time  to  assemble  the  cotton  at  the  large 
primary  and  interior  markets  and  to  ship  it  to  points  of 
export  and  of  consumption.  Dealers  move  some  of  it  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  but  hold  some  in  storage  at  interior 
markets  and  concentration  points  so  that  they  may  deliver 
to  spinners  throughout  the  year.  Spinners,  as  a  rule,  do 
not  carry  a  very  large  supply  of  cotton  on  hand.  The  op¬ 
erations  of  the  future  exchanges  enable  dealers  through 
hedging  to  buy  and  hold  the  cotton  many  months  or  to  ship 
it  a  long  distance  without  undue  hazard  from  changes  in 
prices. 

Prices. — The  basis  for  price  quotations  upon  all  the  mar¬ 
kets  is  the  quotation  for  Middling  on  the  nearest  active 
future  month  upon  the  future  exchanges.  (See  Fig.  43.) 
At  each  primary  market  a  deduction  from  the  price  quota¬ 
tions  must  be  made  to  cover  expenses  of  handling  and  trans¬ 
portation.  If  there  are  many  buyers  on  the  market,  grad¬ 
ing  may  be  fairly  close  and  the  prices  paid  close  to  the  limit 
that  will  allow  a  reasonable  profit  to  the  buyer. 

Prices  in  the  large  primary  and  interior  markets  are  de¬ 
termined  as  in  the  smaller  primary  markets.  However,  grad¬ 
ing  has  become  standardized  in  these  markets,  and  at  each 
market  the  grades  above  and  below  Middling  are  settled  for 
according  to  the  differences  prevailing  in  that  market.  The 
differences  in  price  between  Middling  and  the  other  grades 
and  the  premiums  for  the  longer  staples  vary  from  time  to 
time  because  of  special  demands  or  the  effects  of  the  season 
upon  the  supply  of  the  different  grades  and  lengths  of  staple. 

The  basis  grade  in  future  contracts  is  Middling  and  the 
price  stated  in  the  contracts  is  for  that  grade.  When  grades 
other  than  Middling  are  delivered  the  receiver  pays  for  these 
grades  so  much  above  or  below  the  contract  price  as  the 
grades  delivered  are  worth.  Under  the  United  States  cotton 
futures  act  certain  bona  fide  spot  markets,  designated  by  the 
Secretary  of  Agriculture,  report  daily  to  the  future  ex¬ 
changes  in  the  United  States  and  to  the  Secretary  of  Agri¬ 
culture  the  prevailing  prices  for  Middling  and  the  other 
grades  “on”  and  “off”  Middling  (above  or  below  Mid¬ 
dling).  New  Orleans  being  also  a  spot  market  the  differences 
in  prices  between  Middling  and  the  other  grades  of  spot 
cotton  in  that  market  are  used  in  determining  the  prices  of 
cotton  other  than  Middling  when  they  are  delivered  on  a 


The  Cotton  Situation . 


389 


Fig.  43. — In  the  period  of  the  recent  war  the  price  did  not  rise  as  high  as  in  the  Civil  War  period.  One  reason  being  that  pro¬ 
duction  continued  and  there  was  always  available  a  good  supply,  whereas  in  the  earlier  period  very  little  was  produced  and 
almost  no  cotton  was  available. 


390  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

future  contract  in  that  market,  whereas  under  the  cotton 
futures  act  the  New  York  cotton  exchange  uses  the  average 
differences  “  on  ”  or  “  off  ”  Middling  as  reported  by  the  bona 
fide  spot  markets  designated  by  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

Transportation. 

On  the  primary  markets  the  miscellaneous  assortments  of 
grades  and  lengths  of  staple  produced  by  the  growers  of  cot¬ 
ton  are  purchased  and  forwarded  to  the  interior  markets, 
where  they  are  assorted  and  assembled  into  lots,  even  run¬ 
ning  as  to  grade  and  other  character,  and  offered  to  the  pur¬ 
chasing  agencies  of  the  mills.  Before  forwarding  to  the 
mills,  however,  the  cotton  is  compressed  so  as  to  conserve 
freight  and  mill  storage  space  and  to  economize  on  freight 
charges. 

APPROXIMATE  DIVISION  OF  THE  LIVERPOOL  VALUE  OF  A  BALE  OF  COTTON 
ON  JULY  I.  1913,  1918,  1920,  AND  1921. 


1913  1918  1920  1921 

VALUE  AT  LIVERPOOL  VALUE  AT  LIVERPOOL  VALUE  AT  LIVERPOOL  VALUE  AT  LIVERPOOL 

$64.25  $200.50  $199.25  $58.90 


Fig.  44. — The  farmer’s  share  of  the  final  market  value  of  a  bale  of  cotton 
varied  greatly  from  time  to  time  through  the  late  war  period.  The  cost  of 
ocean  transportation  was  large  during  the  war  but  has  shrunken  nearly  to 
the  prewar  share,  whereas  the  rail  transportation  share  has  largely  increased 
since  the  war. 

Where  there  are  no  facilities  for  compressing  the  cotton  at 
point  of  origin  railroads  accept  it  and  have  it  compressed 
in  transit.  The  charge  for  compressing  averages  about  12 
cents  per  hundred  weight.  Additional  charges  are  made 
for  patching.  These  charges  are  added  to  the  freight  charges 
and  collected  by  the  railroad  company.  To  secure  through 
shipping  rates  all  cotton  is  shipped  to  concentration  points 
with  reshipment  privileges.  When  the  cotton  is  to  be  re¬ 
shipped  the  owner  surrenders  his  receipts  and  it  is  forwarded 
to  destination  on  the  rate  quoted  from  point  of  origin. 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


391 


The  Consumption  of  the  Cotton  Crop. 

Approximately  half  of  the  crop  is  consumed  in  this  coun¬ 
try  and  the  remainder  is  exported.  In  recent  years  mills  in 
the  cotton-growing  States  have  taken  more  than  half  of  the 
total  quantity  remaining  in  this  country  for  consumption. 
Linters  are  mostly  consumed  at  home.  The  tendencies  are 
to  expand  the  cotton  manufacturing  industries  of  the  South 
and  to  manufacture  more  and  more  of  the  cotton  near  where 
it  is  grown. 

Statistics  and  charts  showing  the  annual  distribution  of 
the  cotton  crop  of  the  United  States  follow. 

Consumption  of  cotton  in  the  United  States,  1896-97  to  1920-21. 


[Bales.] 


Year. 

United 

States. 

All  other 
States. 

Cotton¬ 
growing 
States.  1 

Year. 

United 

States. 

All  other 
States. 

Cotton¬ 
growing 
States . 

1896-97 _ 

3, 472, 398 

1909-10 _ 

4, 621, 742 

2,388,236 

2, 233, 506 

1897  98. . . 

3,672,097 

1910-11 _ 

4,498, 417 

2, 249, 282 

2, 249, 135 

1898-99 _ 

3, 687, 253 

1911-12 _ 

5,129,346 

2, 493, 468 

2, 635, 878 

1899-1900.  . 

3,873, 165 

2,349,997 

1,523,168 

1912-13 _ 

5,483,321 

2,621,578 

2,861,743 

1900-1901 . . 

4, 080, 287 

1913-14 _ 

5, 577, 408 

2, 652,114 

2, 925, 294 

1901-02 _ 

4, 187,076 

. 

1914-15..  .. 

5,597,362 

3, 026, 969 

2, 570, 393 

1902-03 _ 

3, 980, 567 

1915-16 _ 

6, 397, 613 

2, 870, 085 

3, 527, 528 

1903-04 _ 

4, 523, 208 

;  1916-17 _ 

6, 788, 505 

2, 900, 157 

3, 888, 348 

1904_05 _ 

4, 877, 465 

1917-18 _ 

6, 566, 489 

2, 869, 391 

3, 697, 098 

1905-06 _ 

4,909,279 

2, 535, 702 

2,373,577 

1918-19 _ 

5,  765, 936 

2, 566, 909 

3, 199, 027 

1908-07 _ 

4, 984,936 

2,573,943 

2,410,993 

1919-20 _ 

6, 419, 734 

2, 836, 815 

3, 582, 919 

1907-08 _ 

4,539,090 

2,351,994 

2,187,096 

1920-21 _ 

4, 892, 672 

1,895,201 

2,997,471 

1908-09 _ 

5,091,534 

2,581,321 

2,510,213 

The  statistics  given  in  the  above  table  were  compiled  from 
reports  of  the  Bureau  of  the  Census.  Those  for  the  period 
1896-97  to  1913-14,  inclusive,  are  for  the  12  months  ending 
August  31.  Those  for  the  period  1914-15  to  1920-21,  in¬ 
clusive,  are  for  the  12  months  ending  July  31.  Those  for  the 
years  1896-97  to  1904-5,  inclusive,  except  the  year  1899- 
1900,  are  for  equivalent  500-pound  bales.  Those  for  the  year 
1899-1900  and  for  the  period  1905-6  to  1920-21,  inclusive, 
are  for  running  bales,  except  that  round  bales  are  counted  as 
half  bales  and  foreign  cotton  in  equivalent  500-pound  bales. 
Linters  are  included  for  the  years  1896-97  to  1907-8,  in¬ 
clusive,  but  are  excluded  for  the  years  1908-9  to  1920-21, 
inclusive. 


TAKEN  BY  UNITED  STATES  MILLS 


392  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921 


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Z.681 

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8681 

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SSSffl  8881 


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Fio.  45. — The  consumption  of  raw  cotton  by  the  mills  of  the  United  States  increased  constantly  from  1876  to  1916.  The  business  depres¬ 
sion  last  year  caused  a  great  reduction  in  mill  consumption.  The  southern  mills  now  use  more  than  half  the  amount  consumed  in 
the  United  States. 


The  Cotton  Situation . 


393 


The  consumption  of  linters  in  the  United  States,  by 
seasons,  for  the  seasons  1908-9  to  1920-21  is  given  below. 
The  figures  for  the  seasons  1908-9  to  1913-14,  inclusive, 
are  for  the  12  months  ending  August  31.  Those  for  the 
seasons  1914-15  to  1920-21,  inclusive,  are  for  the  12  months 
ending  July  31. 

Linters  consumed. 

[Bales.] 


Year. 

United 

States. 

Cotton¬ 

growing 

States. 

All  other 
States. 

Year. 

United 

States. 

Cotton¬ 

growing 

States. 

All  other 

States. 

1908-9 . 

149,185 

43,584 

105, 601 

1915-16 _ 

880,916 

449,602 

431,314 

1909-10 _ 

177,211 

58,827 

118,384 

1915-17 _ 

869, 702 

446,659 

423,043 

1910-11 _ 

206,561 

79,352 

127,209 

1917-18 _ 

1,118,840 

716,954 

401,886 

1911-12 _ 

238,237 

76,345 

161,892 

1918-19 _ 

457,901 

291, 981 

165,920 

1912-13 _ 

303,009 

98,775 

204,234 

1919-20.  . .. 

342,473 

131,484 

210,989 

1913-14 _ 

307,325 

98,121 

209,204 

1920-21 _ 

516,307 

154,483 

361,824 

1914-15 _ 

411,845 

166,384 

245, 461 

Supply  and  distrbution  of  cotton  in  the  United  States. 

[Linters  are  included  for  the  years  1905-6  to  1912-13,  inclusive,  but  are  excluded  for  the  years 

1913-14  to  1920-21.] 


Year. 

Supply. 

Distribution. 

Produc¬ 
tion,  run¬ 
ning  bales, 
except 
round  bales 
counted 
as  half 
bales. 

Carry  over 
from 
previous 
year. 

Imports, 

equivalent 

500-pound 

bales. 

Exports, 
running 
bales, 
except 
round  bales 
counted 
as  half 
bales. 

Consump¬ 
tion,  run¬ 
ning  bales, 
except 
round  bales 
counted 
as  half 
bales. 

Stocks 
on  hand 
at  end 
of  year. 

1905-6 . 

10, 656, 498 

1,934,548 

133,464 

6,763,041 

4,909,279 

1,349,139 

1906-7 . 

13,097,992 

1,349, 139 

202,733 

8,503,265 

4,984,936 

1,514,567 

1907-8 . 

11,527,833 

1,514,567 

140,869 

7,573,349 

4,539,090 

1,236,058 

1908-9 . 

13,418, 144 

1,236,058 

165,451 

8,574,024 

5,240,719 

1,483,585 

1909-10 . 

10,350,978 

1,483,585 

151,395 

6,339,028 

4,798,953 

1,040,040 

1910-11 . 

12, 384, 248 

1,040,040 

231,191 

7,781,414 

4,704,978 

1,375,031 

1911-12 . 

16,068,936 

1,375,031 

229,268 

10,681,758 

5,367,583 

1,776,885 

1912-13 . 

14, 159,078 

1,776,885 

225,460 

8,800,966 

5,786,330 

1,648,438 

1913-14 . 

13,659,167 

1,510,606 

265,646 

8,654,958 

5,577,408 

1,447,817 

1914-15 . 

15,905,840 

1,365,864 

363,595 

8.322,688 

5,597,362 

3,936, 104 

1915-16 . 

11,068,173 

3, 936, 104 

420,995 

5,895,672 

.  6,397,613 

3,139,709 

1916-17 . 

11,363,915 

3,139, 709 

288,486 

5,302,848 

6, 788,505 

2,720,173 

1917-18 . 

11,248, 242 

2, 720, 173 

217,381 

4,288,420 

6,566,489 

3,450,188 

1918-19 . 

11,906,480 

3,450,188 

197,201 

5,592,386 

5, 765,936 

4,286,785 

1919-20 . 

11,325,532 

4,286, 785 

682,911 

6, 545, 326 

6, 419,  734 

3,563, 162 

1920-21 . 

13,270,970 

3, 563, 162 

226,321 

5,673,452 

4,892,672 

6,590,359 

394  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 


ANNUAL  SUPPLY  OF  COTTON 

(including  linters) 

UNITED  STATES.  CROP  YEARS.  1905-1920 


BAL'iS  <0  |n  00  Cl  O  —  (MCO^iniO^OOOl 
MILLIONS  0)0)0>o>0)0)0)o5o)0)0>aC>0) 


ANNUAL  DISTRIBUTION  OF  COTTON 

(including  linters) 

UNITED  STATES.  CROP  YEARS.  1905-1920 


in 

(0 

00 

0) 

o 

(0 

in 

(0 

00 

0) 

o 

o 

o 

O 

O 

0) 

01 

01 

0) 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

Fig.  46. — In  recent  years  the  carry-over  from  one  crop  season  to  another  has 
been  large.  The  total  amount  available  for  the  year  1920—21  was  greater 
than  for  any  previous  year  except  1914-15.  Before  the  war  the  United 
States  annually  exported  more  cotton  than  was  consumed,  but  since  1914 
exports  have  been  less  than  home  consumption. 


The  Cotton  Situation . 


395 


Supply  and  distribution  of  linters  in  the  United  States. 

[Figures  for  each  season  are  for  the  12  months  ending  Aug.  31,  during  the  season  1905-6  to 
1913-14,  inclusive,  and  for  the  12  months  ending  July  31,  during  the  season  1914-15  to 
1920-21.] 


Year. 

Supply. 

Distribution. 

Produc¬ 
tion,  run¬ 
ning  bales, 
except 
round  bales 
counted 
as  half 
bales. 

Carry  over 
from 
previous 
year. 

Imports, 

equivalent 

500-pound 

bales. 

Exports, 
running 
bales, 
except 
round  bales 
counted 
as  half 
bales. 

Consump¬ 
tion,  run¬ 
ning  bales, 
except 
round  bales 
counted 
as  half 
bales. 

•  Stocks 
on  hand 
at  end 
of  year. 

1905-6  . 

230,497 
322, 064 
268, 060 
346, 126 
313,478 
397, 628 
556,276 
602, 324 
631,153 
832,401 
944, 640 
1,300,163 
1,096, 422 
910,236 
595,093 
439,637 

1906-7  . 

1907-8 . 

1908-9 . 

149, 185 
177,211 
206, 561 
238, 237 
303, 009 
307, 325 
411,845 
880, 916 
869,  702 
1.118.840 

1909-10 

1910-11 . 

. 

1911-12 . 

. 

1912-13 . 

137, 832 
181,584 
388, 786 
263, 547 
453,659 
439.917 

1913-14 . 

137, 832 
181,584 
388, 786 
263, 547 
453, 659 
439,917 
868, 897 
1,009, 650 

. 

259, 881 
221, 875 
295, 438 
436, 161 
187, 704 
71,534 
53,021 
51,132 

1914-15  . 

1915-16 . 

1 . 

1916-17 . 

1917-18 . 

. 

1918-19  . 

457,901  868,897 

342,473  1,009,650 

516,307  684,298 

1 

1919-20 . 

1920-21 1 . 

i  Subject  to  possible  correction. 


Fig.  47. — Noon  hour  at  a  modern  southern  cotton  mill. 


396  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 


COTTON  CONSUMPTION 

FOREIGN  AND  DOMESTIC 
AUG..  1920-JULY.  1921 


COTTON 
CONSUMPTION 
(EXCLUDING  LINTERS) 


STATE 

DOMESTIC 

FOREIGN 

TOTAL 

N.C. 

914,377 

12,007 

926484 

Mass 

823,400 

99,082 

922.482 

S.  C. 

766,784 

4,776 

771460 

Ga.. 

605,817 

8462 

614,079 

Ala.  . 

309,646 

309,646 

N.  H. 

206,012 

14429 

220.241 

R.  I.. 

170,826 

41,373 

212,199 

Me.. 

146,498 

6.667 

153,165 

N.  Y. 

129,527 

1466 

130,793 

Va.. 

105452 

105452 

Conn. 

83,398 

12,009 

95,407 

Tenn. 

74,565 

124 

74,689 

Tei.  . 

62,617 

62,617 

Md. . 

40421 

'  '  496' 

41417 

La  .  . 

39427 

39.327 

N.  J. 

19,419 

11,945 

31464 

Miss. 

31408 

31408 

Pa  .  . 

22,579 

1450 

24,429 

K,.. 

21,303 

21403 

Ind.. 

14,200 

12 

14412 

III.  .  . 

10,555 

199 

10,754 

VI... 

9,762 

341 

10,103 

Other 

68,898 

1,143 

70,041 

U.S. 

4,676,891 

215,781 

4,892,672 

Fig.  48. — The  mills  in  the  cotton-growing  States  took  61  per  cent  of  the  total 
taken  by  the  United  States  mills.  Massachusetts,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina,  and  Georgia  are  the  leading  States.  Most  of  the  foreign  cotton  was 
taken  by  the  mills  of  New  England.  w 


Cotton  Exports. 


The  average  annual  exports  of  cotton  previous  to  the  late 
Avar  were  about  60  per  cent  of  the  crop.  During  the  war 
period  the  United  States  consumed  the  larger  proportion 
of  the  crop  produced.  In  some  years  more  than  one-half 
the  crop  was  consumed  by  the  mills  in  this  country.  The 
economic  depression  of  last  year  resulted  in  a  reduction  of 
the  mill  consumption  at  home.  Exports  were  also  reduced, 
leaving  an  unusually  large  carry  over,  6,590,000  bales,  or 
one-half  of  the  production. 

The  movements  of  cotton  through  ports  and  to  foreign 
countries  are  indicated  by  the  accompanying  charts.  The 


The  Cotton  Situation* 


397 


Fig.  49. — The  predominant  position  of  the  United  States  in  the  international  cotton  trade  is  graphically  shown  in  this  ch^rt. 


398  Y earhook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921 


Note  the  changes  in  movements  between  the  pre-war  period  and  last  year.  Austria-Hungary  and  Russia  were  out  of  the 
market  last  year.  Only  Japan  shows  enlarged  imports. 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


399 


war  disturbed  cotton  movements  by  making  transportation 
expensive  and  shutting  out  from  our  markets  some  of  the 
foreign  countries  that  were  taking  cotton.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  Japan  there  has  been  a  great  increase  in  the  manu¬ 
facture  of  cotton,  and  Japan  has  become  one  of  the  most 
important  markets  for  the  raw  cotton  of  the  United  States. 


Pig.  51. — The  United  Kingdom  is  the  best  customer  of  the  United  States ; 
Germany  was  second.  Japan  is  becoming  one  of  the  principal  importers  of 
American  cotton.  In  recent  years  there  has  been  a  very  rapid  expansion  of 
manufacturing  in  Japan. 

Utilization  of  Cotton  Seed. 

The  utilization  of  the  cotton  seed  has  become  an  important 
economic  factor  in  the  production  of  cotton.  At  first  plant¬ 
ers  commonly  considered  all  of  the  seed  as  waste  material, 
except  that  used  for  planting,  but  as  soon  as  they  began  to 
give  some  attention  to  maintaining  the  fertility  of  their 
soils  they  found  the  seed  valuable  fertilizing  material.  Be- 
for  the  Civil  War  experiments  were  being  made  in  heeding 
the  seed  to  live  stock  and  crushing  it  for  oil.  In  1859  there 
were  seven  establishments  in  the  United  States  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  cottonseed  products.  After  the  Civil 
War  there  was  a  great  demand  for  fertilizers  in  the  eastern 
States,  of  the  Cotton  Belt,  and  the  cotton  seed  was  almost 
universally  used  for  this  purpose.  In  1875  refined  cotton¬ 
seed  oil  was  put  on  the  New  Orleans  market,  and  since  then 


400  Yearbook  of  the  Department ,  of  Agriculture ,  19*21. 


Fig.  52. — The  amount  of  cotton  seed  produced,  of  course,  varies  with  the  cotton 
crop.  Recently  developed  valuable  uses  for  the  seed  products  and  high  prices 
for  the  seed  have  caused  an  increasing  proportion  of  the  Droduction  to  he 
crushed. 

the  cottonseed  oil  industry  has  developed  with  remarkable 
rapidity.  Increased  demand  for  the  various  products  of 
the  crushed  seed  has  greatly  increased  the  A’alue  of  the  seed. 

Deterioration  in  Quality  of  the  American  Cotton  Crop. 

According  to  the  testimony  of  the  cotton  trade  in  Europe 
as  well  as  in  the  United  States,  the  quality  of  the  American 
cotton  crop  has  deteriorated  in  recent  decades.  This  can  be 
understood  when  account  is  taken  of  the  general  custom 
among  the  American  growers  of  planting  many  different 
varieties  in  the  same  locality,  the  crossing  of  these  varieties 
in  the  field,  mixing  the  seed  at  the  public  gins,  and  the 
general  use  of  this  ordinary  “  gin-run  ”  seed  for  planting. 

The  extent  of  mixing  of  seed  at  gins  has  not  been  appre¬ 
ciated.  Recent  experiments  have  shown  that  modern  ginning 
machinery  retains  a  large  amount  of  seed  from  each  customer 
and  passes  it  on  to  the  next.  No  less  than  26  per  cent'  of  the 
seed  delivered  to  the  farmer  at  public  gins,  as  ordinarily 
operated,  may  be  seed  of  another  variety  ginned  for  the 
previous  customer.  It  is  apparent  that  if  such  seed  is  planted 
there  must  be  a  vast  amount  of  mixing  in  the  field,  and  de¬ 
terioration  begins. 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


401 


The  degeneration  that  results  from  crossing  in  the  field 
no  doubt  is  the  basis  for  the  popular  idea  that  cotton  varieties 
“  run  out  ”  in  a  few  years  and  that  “  fresh  seed  ”  must  be 
brought  in  from  other  districts.  The  fact  is,  however,  that 
locally  selected  seed  of  good  varieties  has  proved  better  than 
the  new  stock  and  some  of  the  best-known  varieties  have 
been  grown  continuously  in  the  same  districts  for  many  years, 
with  no  indication  of  “  running  out  ”  as  long  as  isolation, 
selection,  and  clean  ginning  are  maintained. 

Lack  of  discrimination  on  the  part  of  buyers  in  the  primary 
markets  is  also  a  serious  factor  in  the  deterioration  in  quality 
of  the  American  cotton  crop,  and  failure  on  the  part  of  buyers 
to  recognize  superior  quality  when  dealing  with  the  growers 
has  had  the  natural  effect  of  leading  farmers  to  believe  that 
the  most  desirable  character  that  a  cotton  variety  can  have 
is  that  of  ghfing  a  high  percentage  of  lint  or  “  large  out¬ 
turn  at  the  gin.”  Most  of  the  varieties  with  high  lint  per¬ 
centages  produce  short  and  inferior  fiber  and  have  small 
seeds,  yielding  a  low  percentage  of  oil,  but  such  varieties  are 
likely  to  be  planted  so  long  as  the  farmer  receives  as  much 
for  three-quarter  or  seven-eighths  inch  cotton  as  he  does  for 
1-inch  cotton. 

Danger  from  Foreign  Competition. 

Very  active  efforts  are  already  being  made  to  establish  or 
to  extend  the  production  of  cotton  in  many  foreign  coun¬ 
tries.  Though  such  efforts  in  the  past  have  not  resulted  in 
serious  injury  to  the  cotton  industry  of  the  United  States, 
every  season  of  high  prices  stimulates  greater  activity  in. 
other  countries.  Disturbed  conditions  during  the  war  period 
resulted  in  the  suspension  of  some  of  these  efforts,  but  there 
is  every  possibility  that  important  centers  of  cotton  produc¬ 
tion  will  be  developed  in  other  parts  of  the  world  within  the 
next  few  years. 

Many  representatives  of  foreign  governments  have  come 
to  the  United  States  in  the  last  few  years  to  study  the  Ameri¬ 
can  cotton  industry.  They  have  come  from  Russia,  China, 
'  Japan,  India,  the  British  colonies  in  Africa,  Brazil,  Argen¬ 
tina,  Peru,  and  other  countries.  Foreign  governments  are 
also  employing  American  experts  and  are  purchasing  large 
supplies  of  seed  of  improved  American  varieties. 

5689° — 22 - G 


402  Yearbook  of  the  Depa/rtment  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

The  effect  of  such  competition  abroad  will  be  felt  first 
by  the  American  producers  of  low-quality,  short-staple  cot¬ 
ton.  Manufacturers  in  the  United  States  had  begun  to  im¬ 
port  inferior  cotton  from  India  and  China  before  the  war, 
and  though  such  importations  may  not  become  a  regular 
custom,  in  any  event  they  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 
fiber  of  inferior  quality  is  already  being  produced  in  foreign 
countries  more  cheaply  than  in  the  United  States. 

Since  a  large  part  of  the  American  cotton  crop  is  ex¬ 
ported  to  other  countries,  the  only  adequate  protection 
against  foreign  competition  is  to  improve  our  own  industry 
by  growing  better  cotton  and  by  growing  it  more  cheaply 
than  other  countries  are  able  to  do,  notwithstanding  lower 
wages  of  farm  labor. 

Improvement  Through  Utilization  of  Better  Varieties. 

Fortunately  the  American  cotton  farmer  is  not  limited 
to  the  production  of  inferior  fiber,  even  under  boll  weevil 
conditions.  Instead  of  preventing  the  use  of  better  varieties 
of  cotton,  the  presence  of  the  boll  weevil  makes  the  im¬ 
provement  of  varieties  still  more  important  than  ever  before. 
In  fact,  the  better  methods  of  preparing  and  cultivating  the 
land  made  necessary  by  the  boll  weevil  provide  more  favor¬ 
able  conditions  for  the  production  of  superior  fiber. 

There  is  available  a  series  of  early  and  prolific  Upland 
varieties  of  cotton-producing  fiber  from  1  to  If  inches  long, 
which  are  adapted  to  a  wide  range  of  conditions  in  the 
American  Cotton  Belt.  With  such  varieties  available,  there 
are  no  agricultural  reasons  for  continuing  to  produce  cotton 
of  less  than  1-inch  staple  in  the  United  States,  and  there 
does  not  appear  to  be  any  industrial  or  economic  reason  for 
continuing  to  produce  the  short  and  inferior  fiber  that  now 
forms  a  large  proportion  of  the  American  cotton  crop. 

Importance  of  One-Variety  Communities. 

Full  utilization  of  improved  varieties  of  cotton  is  possible 
only  in  communities  devoted  to  the  production  of  a  single 
variety.  Where  communities  are  united  upon  a  single  su¬ 
perior  variety  of  cotton  and  supplies  of  pure  seed  are  main¬ 
tained  many  of  the  farming  problems  are  simplified.  Cot- 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


403 


ton  growing  is  discussed  with  interest  and  profit  at  farmers’ 
meetings  because  everybody  has  had  experience  with  the 
same  variety  of  cotton.  With  a  full  understanding  of  the 
behavior  of  one  variety,  methods  are  adjusted  more  closely 
to  differences  in  soil,  season,  and  time  of  planting,  as  well 
as  to  the  control  of  insect  pests  and  diseases,  labor  supplies, 
ginning,  handling,  warehousing,  financing,  and  marketing 
of  the  crop. 

The  most  rapid  progress  in  American  cotton  culture  has 
been  made  the  last  few  years  in  the  Salt  River  Valley  of 
Arizona,  where  only  the  Pima  variety  of  Egyptian  cotton 
is  grown.  Single-variety  communities  are  also  developing 
rapidly  in  Texas,  Oklahoma,  California,  and  other  States 
where  millions  of  dollars  in  premiums  have  already  been 
paid  to  farmers  for  superior  cotton.  Such  progress  is  not 
possible  in  communities  growing  different  kinds  of  cotton, 
where  farmers  usually  ascribe  their  success  or  failure  to  the 
quality  of  the  seed. 

The  essential  feature  is  that  the  community  should  agreee 
upon  the  planting  of  one  variety  of  cotton  and  take  measures 
for  maintaining  the  purity  and  uniformity  of  the  stock  by 
continued  selection  under  the  local  conditions.  This  would 
mean  larger  crops,  better  fiber,  and  higher  prices,  not  only 
because  of  the  improved  quality,  but  also  because  each  com¬ 
munity  would  be  able  to  produce  a  commercial  quantity,  a 
hundred  bales  or  upward,  of  the  same  uniform  type  of 
cotton. 

Cooperative  Warehousing  and  One-Variety  Communities. 

Realization  of  the  enormous  benefits  to  be  derived  from 
cooperative  warehousing  of  cotton  has  led  to  the  rapid  organ¬ 
ization  in  all  of  the  principal  cotton-growing  States  of  farm¬ 
ers’  associations  to  finance  the  building  of  centralized,  fire¬ 
proof  warehouses  for  the  proper  storage  and  handling  of 
their  crop.  Through  such  associations  the  farmer  secures 
protection  for  his  fiber  from  damage  by  fire  or  weather,  his 
crop  is  marketed  in  an  orderly  manner,  and  a  fair  price  is 
assured  for  the  quality  of  cotton  he  produces. 

Full  benefits  of  such  associations  can  not  be  realized,  how¬ 
ever,  in  communities  growing  many  different  varieties  of 
cotton.  Though  the  progressive  farmer  producing  a  superior 


404  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture ,  1921. 

staple  from  selected  seed  may  receive  a  premium  for  his 
cotton  the  first  year  of  two,  there  would  be  no  possibility 
of  maintaining  the  high  standard  of  his  crop  so  long  as  his 
neighbors  persisted  in  growing  inferior  cotton  and  ginning 
their  crops  on  the  same  gin.  Nor  is  it  possible  to  receive  a 
full  price  unless  the  superior  fiber  is  available  in  the  large 
commercial  quantities  that  manufacturers  require,  and  only 
one-variety  communities  can  produce. 

It  is  only  in  communities  devoted  to  the  growing  of  a 
single,  superior  variety  and  maintaining  its  quality  and  uni¬ 
formity  by  persistent  selection  that  full  benefits  may  be 
realized  from  cooperative  warehousing  and  a  real  improve¬ 
ment  in  the  quality  of  the  American  cotton  crop  assured. 

Summary  of  the  Situation  and  Outlook. 

The  short  crop  of  1921  plus  the  large  carry-over  from  1920 
gave  the  world  a  sufficient  supply  of  cotton  for  the  year 
1921-22.  Had  there  not  been  a  very  large  carry-over  from 
the  crop  of  1920  the  low  production  of  1921  would  have  re¬ 
sulted  in  very  high  prices  for  cotton.  Ordinarily  a  short 
crop  in  the  United  States  should  result  in  high  prices,  which 
would  in  some  measure  offset  low  yields.  But  the  extraor¬ 
dinarily  large  carry-over  from  the  crop  of  1920  resulted  in 
low  prices  to  farmers  with  a  very  small  crop.  The  situation 
was  made  worse  by  the  industrial  depression,  which  greatly 
reduced  the  demand  for  cotton  by  the  mills  of  the  United 
States  as  well  as  by  manufacturers  in  foreign  countries.  In 
addition  to  these  difficulties  the  South  was  further  oppressed 
by  high  prices  for  fertilizers  and  high  prices  for  almost 
everything  else  that  the  southern  farmer  had  to  buy.  Not¬ 
withstanding  that  corn  and  other  farm  products  in  the  North 
were  very  cheap  southern  farmers  had  to  pay  good  prices  for 
these  products  in  the  South  because  of  the  increased  trans¬ 
portation  costs.  Taken  together  all  of  these  factors  pro¬ 
duced  a  severe  economic  depression  in  the  South. 

Of  course  it  is  not  expected  that  these  conditions  will  con¬ 
tinue  long.  The  revival  of  the  cotton-manufacturing  in¬ 
dustry  in  this  country  is  strengthening  the  demand  for  cot¬ 
ton.  There  is  reason  to  hope  that  the  economic  condition  of 
foreign  countries  will  also  improve,  so  that  the  cotton-manu- 


The  Cotton  Situation. 


405 


COTTON 

MOVEMENTS 

PERCENTAGE  OF  THE  TOTAL  CROP  GINNED, 

IN  STORAGE,  EXPORTED  AND  CONSUMED,  BY  MONTHS 

1913-14  COMPARED  WITH  1920-21 

GINNED 

PERCENT 

TOTAL 

CROP 

55 

50 

45 

40 

35 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

EXPORTS 

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AUG. 

SEPT. 

OCT. 

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DEC. 

JAN. 

FEB. 

MAR. 

APR. 

MAY 

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X 

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X 

CO 

AUG. 

SEPT. 

OCT. 

NOV. 

DEC. 

JAN. 

FEB. 

MAR. 

APR. 

MAY 

JUNE 

JULY 

IN  STORAGE 

PERCENT 

TOTAL 

CROP 

55 

50 

45 

40 

35 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

CONSUMPTION 

IN  UNITED  STATES  MILLS 

1 

ft. 

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DEC. 

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FEB. 

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§ 

i 

AUG. 

SEPT. 

OCT. 

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JUNE 

JULY 

Fig.  53. — Ginning  begins  in  July  and  ends  in  February ;  the  amount  in  storage 
increases  from  August  to  December,  inclusive ;  exports  increase  August  to 
October  or  November ;  consumption  in  the  United  States  mills  is  quite  regular 
throughout  the  year.  Movements  last  year  differed  from  the  pre-war  average 
principally  in  the  stocks  in  storage,  which  was  largely  owing  to  the  unusually 
large  carry-over  from  the  previous  year. 


facturing  industries  will  revive  and  the  demand  for  goods 
manufactured  in  this  country  will  increase.  The  burden 
upon  the  farmer  of  the  South  in  making  his  purchases  in 
the  North  has  been  somewhat  lessened  by  a  slight  reduction 
in  freight  rates.  Seductions  in  wages  and  in  prices  of  things 
the  farmer  buys  to  produce  the  crop  will  result  in  a  reduc¬ 
tion  in  the  cost  of  the  crop.  The  carry-over  of  cotton  from 
1921-22  is  much  less  than  in  previous  years,  so  that  unless 
there  is  a  very  large  new  crop  of  cotton  to  add  to  this  carry¬ 
over  the  supply  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  will  be  con¬ 
siderably  less  than  the  supply  last  year.  Already  the  pros¬ 
pect  for  a  reduction  in  supply  and  an  increase  in  demand 
has  resulted  in  better  prices.  The  boll  weevil  continues 


406  Yearbook  of  the  I)ej>art 


111 


to  be  a  very  destructive  pest,  which  there  is  as  yet  no  pros¬ 
pect  of  eliminating.  Farmers  who  have  been  in  contact 
with  it  for  some  time  have  learned  to  reduce  somewhat  its 
destructiveness.  Until  more  adequate  measures  of  control 
or  destruction  of  the  pest  have  been  developed  it  may  be 
expected  that  the  boll  weevil  will  continue  to  do  enormous 
damage  to  the  crop  from  year  to  year,  varying  in  destructive¬ 
ness  with  the  character  of  the  season. 


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